Pál Raczky | Eötvös Loránd University (original) (raw)

Papers by Pál Raczky

Archeometriai Műhely , 2025

Szegvár-Tűzköves is an outstanding site of the Hungarian Neolithic – one of the most important ce... more Szegvár-Tűzköves is an outstanding site of the Hungarian Neolithic – one of the most important centres of the Late Neolithic Tisza culture. We present here the evaluation of anthracological and carpological material, studied to reconstruct the vegetation around this Late Neolithic settlement and to gain information about the assortment of cultivated plants. Studied plant material comes from soil samples systematically collected from an excavated profile that cut through various contexts within the Szegvár-Tűzköves tell site. An assemblage of 842 wood charcoal fragments indicates that in the floodplain there was hardwood floodplain woodland with oak (Quercus sp.) and elm (Ulmus sp.) dominance on higher ground and willow (Salix sp.), poplar (Populus sp.) and alder (Alnus sp.) forest in the lower elevations and along the water banks. The elevated drier areas were covered by forest-steppe vegetation, possibly similar to the field elm– pedunculate oak (Ulmus minor – Quercus robur) formations that dominate open forest steppes east of the river Dnieper today.
The total number of remains of cultivated plants was 342, of which the unidentifiable cereal (Cerealia) fragments dominated (81%). Determined grain and spikelet fork remains document the presence of several wheat species, among which spelt (Triticum spelta) dominate, while einkorn (Triticum monococcum), naked wheat (Triticum aestivum), emmer (Triticum dicococcum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) are equally represented. The seeds of wild plants were rare and represented stones of possibly gathered fruits (Rosaceae) and arable or ruderal

bioRxiv preprint, 2025

We present a comprehensive genetic investigation of Late Neolithic (LN) and Early 45 Copper Age (... more We present a comprehensive genetic investigation of Late Neolithic (LN) and Early
45 Copper Age (ECA) populations living in the Carpathian Basin, leveraging whole genome
46 data from 125 previously unreported individuals. Using population genetics, kinship
47 analyses and the study of networks of identity-by-descent haplotype segment sharing,
48 we elucidate the social and genetic dynamics of these communities between 4800-3900
49 cal BCE. Despite changes in settlement patterns, burial practices, and material culture,
50 we document a high degree of genetic continuity. While one set of individuals we
51 analyzed from a large community cemetery was genetically diverse, another site was
52 more homogenous and closed, with numerous consanguineous relationships and
53 evidence of patrilineality and patrilocality. These results document radically different
54 kinship systems in contemporaneous ECA communities using similar material culture
55 and living only about 100 km apart.

Germania, 2024

The German-Romanian multidisciplinary research project launched in 1998 for investigating the Uiv... more The German-Romanian multidisciplinary research project launched in 1998 for investigating
the Uivar site was led by Florin Draşovean and Wolfram Schier, two highly experienced archaeologists,
who combined their wide-ranging knowledge
and expertise during the ten years of fieldwork
on the site and its assessment, the first results of which are now available in the extensive publication
reviewed here.

Nature Human Behaviour, 2024

The Linearbandkeramik (LBK) Neolithic communities were the first to spread farming across large p... more The Linearbandkeramik (LBK) Neolithic communities were the first to
spread farming across large parts of Europe. We report genome-wide data
for 250 individuals: 178 individuals from whole-cemetery surveys of the
Alföld Linearbankeramik Culture eastern LBK site of Polgár-Ferenci-hát, the western LBK site of Nitra Horné Krškany and the western LBK settlement and massacre site of Asparn-Schletz, as well as 48 LBK individuals from 16 other sites and 24 earlier Körös and Starčevo individuals from 17 more sites. Here we show a systematically higher percentage of western hunter-gatherer ancestry in eastern than in western LBK sites, showing that these two distinct LBK groups had different genetic trajectories. We find evidence for patrilocality, with more structure across sites in the male than in the female lines and a higher rate of within-site relatives for males. At Asparn-Schletz we find almost no relatives, showing that the massacred individuals were from a large population, not a small community.

Magyar Régészet, 2024

Előfordul, hogy régóta jól ismert lelőhelyek új módszerekkel végzett mai kutatása és újraértékelé... more Előfordul, hogy régóta jól ismert lelőhelyek új módszerekkel végzett mai kutatása és újraértékelése közben
néhány örök érvényűnek gondolt tézisről kiderül, hogy pusztán tévedés, félreértelmezés. A híres alföldi, az
5. évezred első felére keltezett késő újkőkori tell-településekkel sok esetben szintén ez történik. Az utóbbi
években a múlt századi ásatási adatok mellett mind roncsolásmentes vizsgálatok, mind pedig új feltárások
eredményeinek összehasonlításából származnak teljesen új értelmezést lehetővé tevő eredmények. Az új
meglátásokra elsősorban a multidiszciplináris kutatás, az adatok összességének közös értelmezése nyújtja
a legjobb lehetőséget. Az ilyen, minden rendelkezésre álló adatsor egybevetéséből származó közös értékelés
adhat jó alapot arra, hogy az eredmények alkalmassá váljanak a szélesebb összefüggésbe helyezett értelmezésre, és esetleg történeti, az egykori társadalmi változásokkal kapcsolatos következtetések levonására.
A szerzők e tanulmányának, amely a délkelet-magyarországi Tisza-vidéken található Gorzsa tell-település
régről ismert és teljesen új adatainak együttes értékelését teszi közzé, éppen ez szándéka.

Hungarian Archaeology, 2024

It often happens that the fresh investigation of well-known sites using newly developed technique... more It often happens that the fresh investigation of well-known sites using newly developed techniques and their reassessment brings the recognition that some of the assertions believed to be timelessly true turn out to have been strongly mistaken or were misinterpretations. This has been the case with many of the renowned Late Neolithic tell settlements dated to the earlier fifth millennium BC on the Alföld (Great Hungarian Plain). The collation of the information yielded by the excavation of these sites during the twentieth century with the data provided by non-invasive prospection and new archaeological investigations has paved the way for constructing entirely novel interpretations. A new perspective was forged from the multidisciplinary integration of the data and their comprehensive interpretation. The assessment based on the collation of all available data and evidence provides a firm springboard for interpretations set in a broader perspective and for gaining fresh insights into the period's history and the one-time social dynamics and changes. This study aims to offer a joint assessment of long-known and more recent, fresh information on the Gorzsa tell settlement in the Tisza Valley in southeastern Hungary.

Vegetation history and archaeobotany, Feb 8, 2024

Dissertationes archaeologicae ex Instituto Archaeologico Universitatis de Rolando Eötvös Nominatae, Jun 8, 2018

Le renard dans les fables antiques et ses représentations

Dissertationes archaeologicae ex Instituto Archaeologico Universitatis de Rolando Eötvös Nominatae, Apr 8, 2019

The primary goal of the present study is the publication of the ceramic inventory from Öcsöd-Ková... more The primary goal of the present study is the publication of the ceramic inventory from Öcsöd-Kováshalom, for which Dissertationes Archaeologicae, being an online journal, can provide the necessary space. We shall principally focus on the possible correlations between vessel forms and their decoration in our analysis, alongside the examination of other traits and dimensions. The ad hoc nature of the analysed finds, i.e. an assemblage of vessels that could be successfully refitted, nevertheless constrains the more general insights that can be drawn from this assemblage. Our primary focus is on three different groups of the site's ceramic inventory, examined according to uniform criteria. The analytical units differ from each other in terms of size and, as a result, the quality of the recorded data. Until now, the so-called Tisza I and Tisza II cultural phases were essentially distinguished qualitatively, based on the differing ceramic style of the two superimposed occupation levels (A and B) at Öcsöd-Kováshalom. We took a bottom-up approach in our analysis, moving from the deposits of individual contexts towards the entirety of the settlement. We also strove to extend the Tisza I and II developmental sequence to a larger region in the southern Hungarian Plain by looking at the contexts with similar ceramic patterns on other sites. The essence of our approach is encapsulated by Katalin Sebők's model for the Late Neolithic of the Tisza region, in which ceramic vessels are enveloped by the different (research) aspect connected with several lines, reflecting the intricate relationships between them. This model takes stock of both the European and the American theoretical approaches and also incorporates elements of various approaches based on system and network theories that figure prominently in modern research agendas. Another inspiring aspect of K. Sebők's initiative is that she moved beyond the traditional boundaries of pottery assessment and sought new avenues for meaningful analyses, which was also one of our priorities in the current assessment of the pottery finds from Öcsöd-Kováshalom. The settlement complex represents a specific initial phase in the Late Neolithic development of the Hungarian Plain in the Tiszazug micro-region. Its position in the Tisza culture's formative phase determined the nature of the site, made up of a tell-like and a single-layer settlement, and its layout of a central settlement area surrounded by smaller settlement clusters within a large triple and segmented enclosure, as well as the community's social and economic milieu. The finds and features brought to light at the site preserve the imprints of complex, multi-scalar processes in the community's life. The main goal of the analysis of the assemblage of 240 refitted and reconstructed vessels was to examine and interpret the possible imprints of these multi-level changes. 1 Raczky-Füzesi 2016a. 44 András Füzesi-Pál Raczky at the confluence of the Tisza and Körös rivers (Fig. 1), 2 and on the emergence and development of the Late Neolithic settlement network on the Great Hungarian Plain. The first phase of the site's assessment concentrated on the settlement's larger spatial structures, while our discussion of the finds, including the ceramic inventory, was restricted to a broad general 2

Archaeologiai Értesítő, 2021

A régészeti örökség megmentése és feltárása, eredményes feldolgozása, gondos megőrzése és hatékon... more A régészeti örökség megmentése és feltárása, eredményes feldolgozása, gondos megőrzése és hatékony továbbadása érdekében 2019 őszén Maróth Miklós, az Eötvös Loránd Kutatási Hálózat elnöke, egy középtávú Régészeti Stratégia elkészítését kezdeményezte. Az ELTE BTK Régészettudományi Intézetében született jelen javaslat az elméleti keretek rövid felvázolásával kísérli meg összefoglalni a magyar régészet előtt álló lehetőségeket és legfontosabb feladatokat. A magyar régészetet az elmúlt évtizedekben az ellentmondásos és kapkodó törvényalkotás, a változó és mindinkább romló feltételekkel működő intézményi háttér határozta meg, amely a régészet jelentős presztízsvesztéséhez vezetett. A múlt történetileg hiteles rekonstrukciója érdekében a jelen írás a magyar régészeti örökség gondozásának feladatait a nemzetközi kutatás kihívásainak figyelembevételével határozza meg mind a feltáró és feldolgozó munka, mind a múzeumi megőrzés és bemutatás, az állami feladatvállalás, mind pedig az egyetemi o...

Tuberculosis, 2023

Tuberculosis (TB) has long been a major scourge of humankind. Paleopathological and paleomicrobio... more Tuberculosis (TB) has long been a major scourge of humankind. Paleopathological and paleomicrobiological studies have revealed the past presence of the disease on a large spatial and temporal scale. The antiquity of the disease has extensively been studied in the Carpathian Basin, given its dynamic population and cultural changes since prehistory. These studies, however, have mainly focused on the populations living during the Common Era. The aim of this paper is to present the published and the recently discovered cases of prehistoric TB, from the Neolithic (6000-4500/4400 BCE) to the Bronze Age (2600/2500-800 BCE) Central Carpathian Basin (Hungary). We summarize 18 published cases and present new cases dating to the Neolithic period and introduce 3 newly discovered Bronze Age cases of TB. Despite extensive research, TB has not yet been identified from the Copper and Iron Ages in the Carpathian Basin. Considering the state of TB research, and supplemented by our prehistoric dataset, the spatio-temporal pattern of the disease can be further elucidated, thus advancing future molecular and paleopathological studies. Our dataset offers comprehensive spatial and temporal information on the spread of the disease in the Carpathian Basin, along with a detailed biological profile of the demonstrated cases and extensive paleopathological descriptions of the observed lesions, complemented by photographic evidence. This invaluable resource paves the way for enhanced understanding and progress in the field.

Nature Vol 608 , 2022

In European and many African, Middle Eastern and southern Asian populations, lactase persistence ... more In European and many African, Middle Eastern and southern Asian populations, lactase persistence (LP) is the most strongly selected monogenic trait to have evolved over the past 10,000 years1. Although the selection of LP and the consumption of prehistoric milk must be linked, considerable uncertainty remains concerning their spatiotemporal configuration and specific interactions 2,3. Here we provide detailed
distributions of milk exploitation across Europe over the past 9,000 years using around 7,000 pottery fat residues from more than 550 archaeological sites. European milk use was widespread from the Neolithic period onwards but varied spatially and temporally in intensity. Notably, LP selection varying with levels of prehistoric milk exploitation is no better at explaining LP allele frequency trajectories than uniform
selection since the Neolithic period. In the UK Biobank4,5 cohort of 500,000 contemporary Europeans, the LP genotype was only weakly associated with milk consumption and did not show consistent associations with improved fitness or health indicators. This suggests that other reasons for the beneficial effects of LP should be considered for its rapid frequency increase. We propose that lactase non-persistent individuals consumed milk when it became available but, under conditions of famine and/or increased pathogen exposure, this was disadvantageous, driving LP selection in prehistoric Europe. Comparison of model likelihoods indicates that population fluctuations, settlement density and wild animal exploitation—proxies for these drivers—provide better explanations of LP selection than the extent of milk exploitation. These findings offer new perspectives on prehistoric milk exploitation and LP evolution.

Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 2024

The Neolithic and Copper Age (CA) of Hungary (6000-2800 cal BC) represents a meticulous construct... more The Neolithic and Copper Age (CA) of Hungary (6000-2800 cal BC) represents a meticulous construction of settlement structure, material culture, arable farming and herding techniques with at least one, but likely several reappearing population movements that brought in innovations and possibly contributed to the societal changes in this period. The last couple of decades witnessed a considerable progress in the study of concurrent vegetation, climate and landscape management changes particularly via the increased number of high-resolution pollen records, archaeobotanical and archaeological investigations, coupled with stable isotope analyses of the charred cereal assemblages. In this review we synthetize the results of these research projects and demonstrate that the Neolithic and CA landscapes of Hungary were characterised by mixed oak forest communities, and in the territory of Hungary thermophilous steppe oak forests were present in the lowland landscape that were the principal choice of early farmers represented by the Körös-Starčevo-Criş cultures. Climate modelling and climate reconstruction from these regions indicate higher than preindustrial summer mean temperatures and higher than modern summer rainfall. We demonstrate that Linear Pottery Culture was the first culture that technologically advanced to clear larger plots of land for crop cultivation purposes. The first large scale and landscape level clearance is discernible in the Hungarian pollen records in the Late Neolithic period, when population size likely reached its Neolithic maximum, both in the lowlands and the surrounding mid-mountains.

Dissertationes Archaeologicae, 2021

In 2018, the RGK’s research team led by Knut Rassmann undertook the magnetometer survey of the La... more In 2018, the RGK’s research team led by Knut Rassmann undertook the magnetometer survey of the Late Neolithic site of Öcsöd-Kováshalom over a roughly 65 ha large area. An enclosure system of three concentric semi-circular ditches was detected around the tell-like mound that formed the core of the settlement. In order to resolve these issues, we organised a small field school excavation with the support of the RGK and with the participation of the archaeology students of the ELTE Institute of Archaeological Sciences between July 13 and 25, 2020. We opened an 8×2 m trial trench across the north-eastern part of the innermost ditch appearing on the magnetogram. We uncovered a ditch segment with a V-shaped cross-section, a width of 315 cm and a depth of 295 cm. We recovered a total of 17,430 finds with a weight of 194.4 kg (pottery sherds, daub, animal bones, bone tools, chipped and polished stone implements, quern stones, mussels, and ochre). In our preliminary report, we made a reconst...

Documenta Praehistorica, 2023

The well-known Late Neolithic tell-like settlement of Öcsöd-Kováshalom on the Great Hun garian Pl... more The well-known Late Neolithic tell-like settlement of Öcsöd-Kováshalom on the Great Hun garian Plain gained a completely new context when a triple enclosure consisting of segments (hence the name 'pseudo-ditch') was discovered in 2018. Followed by two small excavation campaigns, this pa per gives account of the construction stages, various digging and filling actions, of the chronology and of the structured deposits that marked the closing event of these long-lasting communal activities. A comparison with European Neolithic enclosures supports the interpretation on the diversity of the numerous ditch systems, and do not allow any generalizing views-it rather speaks for the freedom of local communities in their choices within their respective cultural frameworks.

Documenta Praehistorica, 2023

The well-known Late Neolithic tell-like settlement of Öcsöd-Kováshalom on the Great Hun garian Pl... more The well-known Late Neolithic tell-like settlement of Öcsöd-Kováshalom on the Great Hun garian Plain gained a completely new context when a triple enclosure consisting of segments (hence the name 'pseudo-ditch') was discovered in 2018. Followed by two small excavation campaigns, this pa per gives account of the construction stages, various digging and filling actions, of the chronology and of the structured deposits that marked the closing event of these long-lasting communal activities. A comparison with European Neolithic enclosures supports the interpretation on the diversity of the numerous ditch systems, and do not allow any generalizing views-it rather speaks for the freedom of local communities in their choices within their respective cultural frameworks.

RCHAEOLOGISTS IN EUROPE use the Arabic word tell to refer to a specific kind of archaeological si... more RCHAEOLOGISTS IN EUROPE use the Arabic word tell to refer to a specific kind of archaeological site that grows up vertically over time. 1 From northern Africa through southwestern Asia and into southeastern Europe, tell sites were created at many different times throughout prehistory and in historic times. 2 Tell sites are created when people live on the same piece of land for hundreds or thousands of years-for example, a large section of the modern city of Tel Aviv is a tell site that has been occupied for millennia. Archaeologically, tell sites tend to be associated with sedentary farming populations that built houses made of mud brick or wattle-and-daub, a kind of adobe technique. Because the walls of these houses are made of mud, they are relatively short-lived and need to be renewed or reconstructed regularly. Sometimes they are deconstructed or burned and rebuilt on the same spot. Other times, they are abandoned and rebuilt somewhere else on the settlement. When built on the same spot, prior to reconstruction, a new settlement layer is laid down by leveling the old house

Kóczán A.I.-Marsai V.-Pócza I.-Vargha M. (Szerk.): DT 60. Tanulmányok Dezső Tamás hatvanadik születésnapja alkalmából, Virtuóz Kiadó és Nyomdaipari Kft, Budapest, 78-94., 2023

Öcsöd-Kováshalom korábbi ásatásain sok olyan antropomorf plasztika látott napvilágot, amelyek lát... more Öcsöd-Kováshalom korábbi ásatásain sok olyan antropomorf plasztika látott napvilágot, amelyek látványos példákkal illusztrálták az egykor itt élt közösség, közösségek mindennapi tevékenységek körén túlmutató különleges cselekmények emlékeit. Klincsik János tanártól 2023-ban a lelőhelyről származó agyag figura töredékét kaptuk meg. Az agyag szobrocska egy emberi felsőtest mellrészét ábrázolja, amelyről a fej és a karok letörtek. Ami a plasztikát igazán izgalmassá teszi, az a jobb mellrészén látható hengeres bemélyedés. Nyilvánvaló, hogy ez egy vállon nyugvó egykori nyél nyoma. Az új öcsödi szobrocska e viseleti sajátossága felidézi a szintén késő neolitikus Szegvár-Tűzköves lelőhelyen 1989-ben előkerült figurát, amely egy zsámolyon ülő férfi alakot ábrázolt a vállán nyugvó kis nyeles anyagbaltával. Az akkori interpretációt illetően sokat elárult az ismertető tanulmány címe "Der Gott mit Axt'.

Archeometriai Műhely , 2025

Szegvár-Tűzköves is an outstanding site of the Hungarian Neolithic – one of the most important ce... more Szegvár-Tűzköves is an outstanding site of the Hungarian Neolithic – one of the most important centres of the Late Neolithic Tisza culture. We present here the evaluation of anthracological and carpological material, studied to reconstruct the vegetation around this Late Neolithic settlement and to gain information about the assortment of cultivated plants. Studied plant material comes from soil samples systematically collected from an excavated profile that cut through various contexts within the Szegvár-Tűzköves tell site. An assemblage of 842 wood charcoal fragments indicates that in the floodplain there was hardwood floodplain woodland with oak (Quercus sp.) and elm (Ulmus sp.) dominance on higher ground and willow (Salix sp.), poplar (Populus sp.) and alder (Alnus sp.) forest in the lower elevations and along the water banks. The elevated drier areas were covered by forest-steppe vegetation, possibly similar to the field elm– pedunculate oak (Ulmus minor – Quercus robur) formations that dominate open forest steppes east of the river Dnieper today.
The total number of remains of cultivated plants was 342, of which the unidentifiable cereal (Cerealia) fragments dominated (81%). Determined grain and spikelet fork remains document the presence of several wheat species, among which spelt (Triticum spelta) dominate, while einkorn (Triticum monococcum), naked wheat (Triticum aestivum), emmer (Triticum dicococcum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) are equally represented. The seeds of wild plants were rare and represented stones of possibly gathered fruits (Rosaceae) and arable or ruderal

bioRxiv preprint, 2025

We present a comprehensive genetic investigation of Late Neolithic (LN) and Early 45 Copper Age (... more We present a comprehensive genetic investigation of Late Neolithic (LN) and Early
45 Copper Age (ECA) populations living in the Carpathian Basin, leveraging whole genome
46 data from 125 previously unreported individuals. Using population genetics, kinship
47 analyses and the study of networks of identity-by-descent haplotype segment sharing,
48 we elucidate the social and genetic dynamics of these communities between 4800-3900
49 cal BCE. Despite changes in settlement patterns, burial practices, and material culture,
50 we document a high degree of genetic continuity. While one set of individuals we
51 analyzed from a large community cemetery was genetically diverse, another site was
52 more homogenous and closed, with numerous consanguineous relationships and
53 evidence of patrilineality and patrilocality. These results document radically different
54 kinship systems in contemporaneous ECA communities using similar material culture
55 and living only about 100 km apart.

Germania, 2024

The German-Romanian multidisciplinary research project launched in 1998 for investigating the Uiv... more The German-Romanian multidisciplinary research project launched in 1998 for investigating
the Uivar site was led by Florin Draşovean and Wolfram Schier, two highly experienced archaeologists,
who combined their wide-ranging knowledge
and expertise during the ten years of fieldwork
on the site and its assessment, the first results of which are now available in the extensive publication
reviewed here.

Nature Human Behaviour, 2024

The Linearbandkeramik (LBK) Neolithic communities were the first to spread farming across large p... more The Linearbandkeramik (LBK) Neolithic communities were the first to
spread farming across large parts of Europe. We report genome-wide data
for 250 individuals: 178 individuals from whole-cemetery surveys of the
Alföld Linearbankeramik Culture eastern LBK site of Polgár-Ferenci-hát, the western LBK site of Nitra Horné Krškany and the western LBK settlement and massacre site of Asparn-Schletz, as well as 48 LBK individuals from 16 other sites and 24 earlier Körös and Starčevo individuals from 17 more sites. Here we show a systematically higher percentage of western hunter-gatherer ancestry in eastern than in western LBK sites, showing that these two distinct LBK groups had different genetic trajectories. We find evidence for patrilocality, with more structure across sites in the male than in the female lines and a higher rate of within-site relatives for males. At Asparn-Schletz we find almost no relatives, showing that the massacred individuals were from a large population, not a small community.

Magyar Régészet, 2024

Előfordul, hogy régóta jól ismert lelőhelyek új módszerekkel végzett mai kutatása és újraértékelé... more Előfordul, hogy régóta jól ismert lelőhelyek új módszerekkel végzett mai kutatása és újraértékelése közben
néhány örök érvényűnek gondolt tézisről kiderül, hogy pusztán tévedés, félreértelmezés. A híres alföldi, az
5. évezred első felére keltezett késő újkőkori tell-településekkel sok esetben szintén ez történik. Az utóbbi
években a múlt századi ásatási adatok mellett mind roncsolásmentes vizsgálatok, mind pedig új feltárások
eredményeinek összehasonlításából származnak teljesen új értelmezést lehetővé tevő eredmények. Az új
meglátásokra elsősorban a multidiszciplináris kutatás, az adatok összességének közös értelmezése nyújtja
a legjobb lehetőséget. Az ilyen, minden rendelkezésre álló adatsor egybevetéséből származó közös értékelés
adhat jó alapot arra, hogy az eredmények alkalmassá váljanak a szélesebb összefüggésbe helyezett értelmezésre, és esetleg történeti, az egykori társadalmi változásokkal kapcsolatos következtetések levonására.
A szerzők e tanulmányának, amely a délkelet-magyarországi Tisza-vidéken található Gorzsa tell-település
régről ismert és teljesen új adatainak együttes értékelését teszi közzé, éppen ez szándéka.

Hungarian Archaeology, 2024

It often happens that the fresh investigation of well-known sites using newly developed technique... more It often happens that the fresh investigation of well-known sites using newly developed techniques and their reassessment brings the recognition that some of the assertions believed to be timelessly true turn out to have been strongly mistaken or were misinterpretations. This has been the case with many of the renowned Late Neolithic tell settlements dated to the earlier fifth millennium BC on the Alföld (Great Hungarian Plain). The collation of the information yielded by the excavation of these sites during the twentieth century with the data provided by non-invasive prospection and new archaeological investigations has paved the way for constructing entirely novel interpretations. A new perspective was forged from the multidisciplinary integration of the data and their comprehensive interpretation. The assessment based on the collation of all available data and evidence provides a firm springboard for interpretations set in a broader perspective and for gaining fresh insights into the period's history and the one-time social dynamics and changes. This study aims to offer a joint assessment of long-known and more recent, fresh information on the Gorzsa tell settlement in the Tisza Valley in southeastern Hungary.

Vegetation history and archaeobotany, Feb 8, 2024

Dissertationes archaeologicae ex Instituto Archaeologico Universitatis de Rolando Eötvös Nominatae, Jun 8, 2018

Le renard dans les fables antiques et ses représentations

Dissertationes archaeologicae ex Instituto Archaeologico Universitatis de Rolando Eötvös Nominatae, Apr 8, 2019

The primary goal of the present study is the publication of the ceramic inventory from Öcsöd-Ková... more The primary goal of the present study is the publication of the ceramic inventory from Öcsöd-Kováshalom, for which Dissertationes Archaeologicae, being an online journal, can provide the necessary space. We shall principally focus on the possible correlations between vessel forms and their decoration in our analysis, alongside the examination of other traits and dimensions. The ad hoc nature of the analysed finds, i.e. an assemblage of vessels that could be successfully refitted, nevertheless constrains the more general insights that can be drawn from this assemblage. Our primary focus is on three different groups of the site's ceramic inventory, examined according to uniform criteria. The analytical units differ from each other in terms of size and, as a result, the quality of the recorded data. Until now, the so-called Tisza I and Tisza II cultural phases were essentially distinguished qualitatively, based on the differing ceramic style of the two superimposed occupation levels (A and B) at Öcsöd-Kováshalom. We took a bottom-up approach in our analysis, moving from the deposits of individual contexts towards the entirety of the settlement. We also strove to extend the Tisza I and II developmental sequence to a larger region in the southern Hungarian Plain by looking at the contexts with similar ceramic patterns on other sites. The essence of our approach is encapsulated by Katalin Sebők's model for the Late Neolithic of the Tisza region, in which ceramic vessels are enveloped by the different (research) aspect connected with several lines, reflecting the intricate relationships between them. This model takes stock of both the European and the American theoretical approaches and also incorporates elements of various approaches based on system and network theories that figure prominently in modern research agendas. Another inspiring aspect of K. Sebők's initiative is that she moved beyond the traditional boundaries of pottery assessment and sought new avenues for meaningful analyses, which was also one of our priorities in the current assessment of the pottery finds from Öcsöd-Kováshalom. The settlement complex represents a specific initial phase in the Late Neolithic development of the Hungarian Plain in the Tiszazug micro-region. Its position in the Tisza culture's formative phase determined the nature of the site, made up of a tell-like and a single-layer settlement, and its layout of a central settlement area surrounded by smaller settlement clusters within a large triple and segmented enclosure, as well as the community's social and economic milieu. The finds and features brought to light at the site preserve the imprints of complex, multi-scalar processes in the community's life. The main goal of the analysis of the assemblage of 240 refitted and reconstructed vessels was to examine and interpret the possible imprints of these multi-level changes. 1 Raczky-Füzesi 2016a. 44 András Füzesi-Pál Raczky at the confluence of the Tisza and Körös rivers (Fig. 1), 2 and on the emergence and development of the Late Neolithic settlement network on the Great Hungarian Plain. The first phase of the site's assessment concentrated on the settlement's larger spatial structures, while our discussion of the finds, including the ceramic inventory, was restricted to a broad general 2

Archaeologiai Értesítő, 2021

A régészeti örökség megmentése és feltárása, eredményes feldolgozása, gondos megőrzése és hatékon... more A régészeti örökség megmentése és feltárása, eredményes feldolgozása, gondos megőrzése és hatékony továbbadása érdekében 2019 őszén Maróth Miklós, az Eötvös Loránd Kutatási Hálózat elnöke, egy középtávú Régészeti Stratégia elkészítését kezdeményezte. Az ELTE BTK Régészettudományi Intézetében született jelen javaslat az elméleti keretek rövid felvázolásával kísérli meg összefoglalni a magyar régészet előtt álló lehetőségeket és legfontosabb feladatokat. A magyar régészetet az elmúlt évtizedekben az ellentmondásos és kapkodó törvényalkotás, a változó és mindinkább romló feltételekkel működő intézményi háttér határozta meg, amely a régészet jelentős presztízsvesztéséhez vezetett. A múlt történetileg hiteles rekonstrukciója érdekében a jelen írás a magyar régészeti örökség gondozásának feladatait a nemzetközi kutatás kihívásainak figyelembevételével határozza meg mind a feltáró és feldolgozó munka, mind a múzeumi megőrzés és bemutatás, az állami feladatvállalás, mind pedig az egyetemi o...

Tuberculosis, 2023

Tuberculosis (TB) has long been a major scourge of humankind. Paleopathological and paleomicrobio... more Tuberculosis (TB) has long been a major scourge of humankind. Paleopathological and paleomicrobiological studies have revealed the past presence of the disease on a large spatial and temporal scale. The antiquity of the disease has extensively been studied in the Carpathian Basin, given its dynamic population and cultural changes since prehistory. These studies, however, have mainly focused on the populations living during the Common Era. The aim of this paper is to present the published and the recently discovered cases of prehistoric TB, from the Neolithic (6000-4500/4400 BCE) to the Bronze Age (2600/2500-800 BCE) Central Carpathian Basin (Hungary). We summarize 18 published cases and present new cases dating to the Neolithic period and introduce 3 newly discovered Bronze Age cases of TB. Despite extensive research, TB has not yet been identified from the Copper and Iron Ages in the Carpathian Basin. Considering the state of TB research, and supplemented by our prehistoric dataset, the spatio-temporal pattern of the disease can be further elucidated, thus advancing future molecular and paleopathological studies. Our dataset offers comprehensive spatial and temporal information on the spread of the disease in the Carpathian Basin, along with a detailed biological profile of the demonstrated cases and extensive paleopathological descriptions of the observed lesions, complemented by photographic evidence. This invaluable resource paves the way for enhanced understanding and progress in the field.

Nature Vol 608 , 2022

In European and many African, Middle Eastern and southern Asian populations, lactase persistence ... more In European and many African, Middle Eastern and southern Asian populations, lactase persistence (LP) is the most strongly selected monogenic trait to have evolved over the past 10,000 years1. Although the selection of LP and the consumption of prehistoric milk must be linked, considerable uncertainty remains concerning their spatiotemporal configuration and specific interactions 2,3. Here we provide detailed
distributions of milk exploitation across Europe over the past 9,000 years using around 7,000 pottery fat residues from more than 550 archaeological sites. European milk use was widespread from the Neolithic period onwards but varied spatially and temporally in intensity. Notably, LP selection varying with levels of prehistoric milk exploitation is no better at explaining LP allele frequency trajectories than uniform
selection since the Neolithic period. In the UK Biobank4,5 cohort of 500,000 contemporary Europeans, the LP genotype was only weakly associated with milk consumption and did not show consistent associations with improved fitness or health indicators. This suggests that other reasons for the beneficial effects of LP should be considered for its rapid frequency increase. We propose that lactase non-persistent individuals consumed milk when it became available but, under conditions of famine and/or increased pathogen exposure, this was disadvantageous, driving LP selection in prehistoric Europe. Comparison of model likelihoods indicates that population fluctuations, settlement density and wild animal exploitation—proxies for these drivers—provide better explanations of LP selection than the extent of milk exploitation. These findings offer new perspectives on prehistoric milk exploitation and LP evolution.

Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 2024

The Neolithic and Copper Age (CA) of Hungary (6000-2800 cal BC) represents a meticulous construct... more The Neolithic and Copper Age (CA) of Hungary (6000-2800 cal BC) represents a meticulous construction of settlement structure, material culture, arable farming and herding techniques with at least one, but likely several reappearing population movements that brought in innovations and possibly contributed to the societal changes in this period. The last couple of decades witnessed a considerable progress in the study of concurrent vegetation, climate and landscape management changes particularly via the increased number of high-resolution pollen records, archaeobotanical and archaeological investigations, coupled with stable isotope analyses of the charred cereal assemblages. In this review we synthetize the results of these research projects and demonstrate that the Neolithic and CA landscapes of Hungary were characterised by mixed oak forest communities, and in the territory of Hungary thermophilous steppe oak forests were present in the lowland landscape that were the principal choice of early farmers represented by the Körös-Starčevo-Criş cultures. Climate modelling and climate reconstruction from these regions indicate higher than preindustrial summer mean temperatures and higher than modern summer rainfall. We demonstrate that Linear Pottery Culture was the first culture that technologically advanced to clear larger plots of land for crop cultivation purposes. The first large scale and landscape level clearance is discernible in the Hungarian pollen records in the Late Neolithic period, when population size likely reached its Neolithic maximum, both in the lowlands and the surrounding mid-mountains.

Dissertationes Archaeologicae, 2021

In 2018, the RGK’s research team led by Knut Rassmann undertook the magnetometer survey of the La... more In 2018, the RGK’s research team led by Knut Rassmann undertook the magnetometer survey of the Late Neolithic site of Öcsöd-Kováshalom over a roughly 65 ha large area. An enclosure system of three concentric semi-circular ditches was detected around the tell-like mound that formed the core of the settlement. In order to resolve these issues, we organised a small field school excavation with the support of the RGK and with the participation of the archaeology students of the ELTE Institute of Archaeological Sciences between July 13 and 25, 2020. We opened an 8×2 m trial trench across the north-eastern part of the innermost ditch appearing on the magnetogram. We uncovered a ditch segment with a V-shaped cross-section, a width of 315 cm and a depth of 295 cm. We recovered a total of 17,430 finds with a weight of 194.4 kg (pottery sherds, daub, animal bones, bone tools, chipped and polished stone implements, quern stones, mussels, and ochre). In our preliminary report, we made a reconst...

Documenta Praehistorica, 2023

The well-known Late Neolithic tell-like settlement of Öcsöd-Kováshalom on the Great Hun garian Pl... more The well-known Late Neolithic tell-like settlement of Öcsöd-Kováshalom on the Great Hun garian Plain gained a completely new context when a triple enclosure consisting of segments (hence the name 'pseudo-ditch') was discovered in 2018. Followed by two small excavation campaigns, this pa per gives account of the construction stages, various digging and filling actions, of the chronology and of the structured deposits that marked the closing event of these long-lasting communal activities. A comparison with European Neolithic enclosures supports the interpretation on the diversity of the numerous ditch systems, and do not allow any generalizing views-it rather speaks for the freedom of local communities in their choices within their respective cultural frameworks.

Documenta Praehistorica, 2023

The well-known Late Neolithic tell-like settlement of Öcsöd-Kováshalom on the Great Hun garian Pl... more The well-known Late Neolithic tell-like settlement of Öcsöd-Kováshalom on the Great Hun garian Plain gained a completely new context when a triple enclosure consisting of segments (hence the name 'pseudo-ditch') was discovered in 2018. Followed by two small excavation campaigns, this pa per gives account of the construction stages, various digging and filling actions, of the chronology and of the structured deposits that marked the closing event of these long-lasting communal activities. A comparison with European Neolithic enclosures supports the interpretation on the diversity of the numerous ditch systems, and do not allow any generalizing views-it rather speaks for the freedom of local communities in their choices within their respective cultural frameworks.

RCHAEOLOGISTS IN EUROPE use the Arabic word tell to refer to a specific kind of archaeological si... more RCHAEOLOGISTS IN EUROPE use the Arabic word tell to refer to a specific kind of archaeological site that grows up vertically over time. 1 From northern Africa through southwestern Asia and into southeastern Europe, tell sites were created at many different times throughout prehistory and in historic times. 2 Tell sites are created when people live on the same piece of land for hundreds or thousands of years-for example, a large section of the modern city of Tel Aviv is a tell site that has been occupied for millennia. Archaeologically, tell sites tend to be associated with sedentary farming populations that built houses made of mud brick or wattle-and-daub, a kind of adobe technique. Because the walls of these houses are made of mud, they are relatively short-lived and need to be renewed or reconstructed regularly. Sometimes they are deconstructed or burned and rebuilt on the same spot. Other times, they are abandoned and rebuilt somewhere else on the settlement. When built on the same spot, prior to reconstruction, a new settlement layer is laid down by leveling the old house

Kóczán A.I.-Marsai V.-Pócza I.-Vargha M. (Szerk.): DT 60. Tanulmányok Dezső Tamás hatvanadik születésnapja alkalmából, Virtuóz Kiadó és Nyomdaipari Kft, Budapest, 78-94., 2023

Öcsöd-Kováshalom korábbi ásatásain sok olyan antropomorf plasztika látott napvilágot, amelyek lát... more Öcsöd-Kováshalom korábbi ásatásain sok olyan antropomorf plasztika látott napvilágot, amelyek látványos példákkal illusztrálták az egykor itt élt közösség, közösségek mindennapi tevékenységek körén túlmutató különleges cselekmények emlékeit. Klincsik János tanártól 2023-ban a lelőhelyről származó agyag figura töredékét kaptuk meg. Az agyag szobrocska egy emberi felsőtest mellrészét ábrázolja, amelyről a fej és a karok letörtek. Ami a plasztikát igazán izgalmassá teszi, az a jobb mellrészén látható hengeres bemélyedés. Nyilvánvaló, hogy ez egy vállon nyugvó egykori nyél nyoma. Az új öcsödi szobrocska e viseleti sajátossága felidézi a szintén késő neolitikus Szegvár-Tűzköves lelőhelyen 1989-ben előkerült figurát, amely egy zsámolyon ülő férfi alakot ábrázolt a vállán nyugvó kis nyeles anyagbaltával. Az akkori interpretációt illetően sokat elárult az ismertető tanulmány címe "Der Gott mit Axt'.

bioRxiv, 2025

We present a comprehensive genetic investigation of Late Neolithic (LN) and Early Copper Age (ECA... more We present a comprehensive genetic investigation of Late Neolithic (LN) and Early Copper Age (ECA) populations living in the Carpathian Basin, leveraging whole genome data from 125 previously unreported individuals. Using population genetics, kinship analyses and the study of networks of identity-by-descent haplotype segment sharing, we elucidate the social and genetic dynamics of these communities between 4800-3900 cal BCE. Despite changes in settlement patterns, burial practices, and material culture, we document a high degree of genetic continuity. While one set of individuals we analyzed from a large community cemetery was genetically diverse, another site was more homogenous and closed, with numerous consanguineous relationships and evidence of patrilineality and patrilocality. These results document radically different kinship systems in contemporaneous ECA communities using similar material culture and living only about 100 km apart.

Archaeologiai Értesítő, 146 (2021) 275–278., 2021

Könyvismertetésünk elején mindjárt kijelenthetjük, hogy ez a látványos kötet az egész európai ősk... more Könyvismertetésünk elején mindjárt kijelenthetjük, hogy ez a látványos kötet az egész európai
őskorkutatás óriási nyeresége, és a háttérmunkálatok az Institut für Orientalische und
Europäische Archäologie (Bécs), valamint az Eurasien-Abteilung des Deutsches Archäologisches
Instituts (Berlin) sikeres tudományos együttműködését dicséri. A könyv alapvetően a nyugat-
bulgáriai Sztruma-völgyben található Gălăbnik települési halmának, telljének feltárási
eredményeit foglalja össze, igen gazdag illusztrációval kísérve. Az 1978–1979-es első próbaásatásokat
Michail Čhoadžiev kezdeményezte, s ezt 1980 és 1993 között további 13 ásatási
kampány követett, amelynek a kivitelezése már főként Juraj Pavúk és Aneta Bakamska nevéhez
kötődött. Noha a Sztruma/Sztrimon völgyében 1980 és 1990 időszakában számos hasonló
lelőhely kutatása valósult meg, többek között a görög–bolgár határon található Topolnica-
Promachon helyszínén, mégis ez a Gălăbnik-monográfia az első, amely a teljesség igényével
ad áttekintő képet egy ilyen, a Kr. e. 6. évezred elejének időszakára keltezhető, neolitikus település
rétegtani helyzetéről, objektumairól és emlékanyagáról.

Ancient DNA studies have established that European Neolithic populations were descended from Anat... more Ancient DNA studies have established that European Neolithic populations
were descended from Anatolian migrants who received a limited amount of
admixture from resident hunter-gatherers. Many open questions remain, how-
ever, about the spatial and temporal dynamics of population interactions and
admixture during the Neolithic period. Using the highest-resolution genome-
wide ancient DNA data set assembled to date|a total of 177 samples, 127
newly reported here, from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic of Hungary (6000{
2900 BCE, n = 98), Germany (5500{3000 BCE, n = 42), and Spain (5500{
2200 BCE, n = 37)|we investigate the population dynamics of Neolithization
across Europe.

GERMANIA 101, 2023

The German-Romanian multidisciplinary research project launched in 1998 for investigating the Uiv... more The German-Romanian multidisciplinary research project launched in 1998 for investigating
the Uivar site was led by Florin Draşovean and Wolfram Schier, two highly experienced archaeologists,
who combined their wide-ranging knowledge
and expertise during the ten years of fieldwork
on the site and its assessment, the first results of which are now available in the extensive publication
reviewed here. The main methodological approach during the fieldwork, employed consistently
in all investigated areas from 1999, was the rigorous application of the stratigraphic method to
excavate the site according to layer interfaces and one-time cut features.