Kata Furholt (Szilágyi) | Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (original) (raw)
Papers by Kata Furholt (Szilágyi)
Reflections on Volcanic Glass: Proceedings of the 2021 International Obsidian Conference, 2024
Stone tools, although one of the most abundant facets of the archaeological record, have in the p... more Stone tools, although one of the most abundant facets of the archaeological record, have in the past almost exclusively been considered with regards to the transmission of technological traditions or cultural habits, expressed in the presence of “cultures” or “technocomplexes,” and too infrequently studied for their role within economic systems and systems of value. In the European Neolithic research tradition, studies of social organization
usually focus on exotic materials such as obsidian, jade, lapis lazuli, spondylus shells, early copper, or elaborate pottery. “Exotic,” in this context, means materials that have a recognizable visual appearance or that occur rarely, and with original sources that are well-known and can be clearly delineated (e.g., one mountain, one mine) or restricted to a small area. In this sense, obsidian provides an excellent opportunity to look closer
at the provenance approach to identifying the potential value of material in the past. To systematically examine the quantitative distribution and exchange of obsidian tools and their integration into community-specific systems of value is an approach that will help promote a better understanding of obsidian’s social and economic role in prehistory.
For this reason, this chapter focuses on the appearance of obsidian artifacts in a number of different archaeological contexts, including settlement
features, burials, and deposits (depots or hoards), to study the various forms of value in the Carpathian Basin.
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Heitz, Wunderlich, Hinz, Furholt (eds): Rethinking Neolithic Societies. New Perspectives on Social Relations, Political Organization and Cohabitation. Leiden: Sidestone Press, 173-198, 2023
The paper focuses on Late Neolithic burial practices in the western part of the Carpathian Basin ... more The paper focuses on Late Neolithic burial practices in the western part of the Carpathian
Basin (Transdanubia). Here, the dominant narrative of the emergence of social inequality is
one that heavily focuses on a group of supposedly more valuable, or exotic “prestige items”,
whose existence is taken to indicate the elite status of the buried individual. This positivistic,
top-down approach has led to the idea of a socially ranked, male-dominated Neolithic society.
This narrative highlights some preselected features, objects, and burial types, while at the same
time more or less ignores most of the visible patterns of burial practices, which are deemed
“ordinary” or insignificant. To oppose this tendency, a bottom-up approach focuses on the
entirety of the accessible material, the archaeological features, and, more specifically, their
statistical and spatial patterns. The southeast Transdanubian region in the Late Neolithic is an
especially interesting region from this perspective; here, almost 3300 Lengyel burials are known,
providing a good basis on which to study the main patterns and characteristic features of the
burial practices and interpret them in the light of social organisation. For this reason, I use a
case study from the Late Neolithic Alsónyék site to apply a bottom-up approach, which suggests
a different interpretation of the whole burial practice than the established top-down narrative.
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From tea leaves to leaf-shaped tools. Studies in honour of Zsolt Mester on his sixtieth birthday, 2023
Lithic technological analysis, experimental studies, and ethnoarchaeology, together with cultural... more Lithic technological analysis, experimental studies, and ethnoarchaeology, together with cultural
and social anthropological approaches all provide excellent tools for the interpretation of knapped
stone artefacts – not only from the Palaeolithic era but the Neolithic as well. The fundamental concept
of chaîne opératoire was developed by French scholars studying Palaeolithic materials, providing a consistent
framework for the recognition of the technological system of a community. This approach can
take into account not only the technological knowledge, skills and abilities of the individual but also the
traditions of the community and the surrounding environment that influence the qualities of the community
(potential knappable raw materials, characteristic toolkits, etc.). By contrast, the conventional
archaeological approach to lithics too often narrowly focuses on the spatial distribution of raw materials,
and the occurrence of specialised tools, to reconstruct, for example, the communication networks
between communities. However, the technological approach can explore a broader range of activities
in more detail – stone tool production, usage and deposition. Observed technological traits of lithic
implements enable us to recognise these activities at different levels on spatial and social scales. Thus,
we can identify technical choices and gestures, as well as recurring activities, i.e. practices, even with a
ritual character, inside and outside the settlements, within the scopes of individuals, households or an
entire community. This paper presents a Late Neolithic case study on how the technological approach
facilitates the study of stone tool production on different levels, scales, their use and their deposition,
and integrates them into the Neolithic narrative.
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Határtalan Régészet, 2023
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Határtalan Régészet, 2023
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Határtalan Régészet, 2023
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Archeometriai Műhely, 2022
The aim of this article is to present the experiences and new knowledge gained from the petroarch... more The aim of this article is to present the experiences and new knowledge gained from the petroarcheological training held in Cologne from 7 to 11 February 2022. I believe that this excellent example will support and promote the organisation of a similar course in the field of petroarchaeology in the Hungarian scientific community. Many enthusiastic and dedicated researchers do field surveys to search for previous potential useable lithic raw materials in Hungary too. The theoretical and practical framework of the well-constructed petroarcheological research presented in Cologne, and the presentation in this article will hopefully provide a fresh and new impulse for Hungarian experts, as it can be applied regardless of the area and language. In addition, the article includes an extended bibliography to provide a cross-section of publications on silicates and the concept of the evolutionary chain.
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"We should not, however, think that we are pioneers". Museum on Troubled Waters in the Past and Today, 2022
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Hungarian Archaeology, 2022
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Határtalan Régészet, 2022
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Archeometriai Műhely, 2021
The participants of the project have been involved in the provenance study of polished stone arte... more The participants of the project have been involved in the provenance study of polished stone artefacts for more than two decades (Szakmány & Starnini 1998, Biró 1998a, Biró & Szakmány 2000). In the framework of a fouryear project supported by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (project K-131814, launched in 2019) we are planning to construct a series of maps based on petrographical characterisation studies. The collected data will be stored in a web-based database for the use of project participants and the general public, basically experts interested in this special field. For this purpose, we are using, as a starting point, the MissMarble type database model constructed in MySQL system by J. Zöldföldi and P. Hegedűs (Zöldföldi et al. 2008). This model has been used in our previous database construction for pottery (CeraMis) and lithics (Litotéka), respectively (Zöldföldi et al. 2010, Biró & Hegedűs 2012). The current database is focussing on the petroarcheological (macroscopic and instrumental) investigation of polished stone tools. Data for the project are collected, partly, in the framework of the current project and our former studies, but we would like to integrate in this format the totality of the published information available to us. The sources of data are the records on macroscopic, microscopic and instrumental analysis for polished stone tools, measurement data, processed data from museum inventories and information published in the field, partly based on our own research and partly on information published by others. We are in the process of adapting the current database system to the specific problem; first of all, we plan to check and update the publications and material test documents to be processed.
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Archeometriai Műhely, 2021
The article presents the archaeological part of a multidisciplinary project aimed at the archeome... more The article presents the archaeological part of a multidisciplinary project aimed at the archeometric study of the raw materials of prehistoric polished stone tools and ground stone tools, and the identification of potential geological sources of the raw material used to make them. From an archaeological point of view, the primary question for lithic provenance analysis is: what kind of rocks was used as raw materials in the Prehistory and where they came from, how far they were transported and in what quantities, in the form of raw materials, semifinished products or finished stone tools. It is important to reconstruct the stone tool making process from the technological perspective, and to establish the use and possible recycling operations. The new knowledge based on a large number of samples will help in the study of the relations, exchange/trade and information systems, land use and mobility of contemporary societies. Our results so far suggest that there are relatively few sources of raw materials suitable for the production of high-quality polished stone tools in the Carpathian Basin. The exploration of long-distance imported stone tools from areas beyond today's political boundaries is of great importance. The comparison of the material knowledge results of the present research and the exchange/trade systems of other raw materials (e.g. Spondylus shells, obsidian, flint), which can be used to study the origin, will help to gain a more detailed understanding of the spatial distribution of prehistoric communities, their communication, exchange and information systems, their socio-historical aspects and their changes over time.
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Magyar Régészet, 2022
A köztudatban nagyon eltérő módon jelenlévő nemi szerepekkel foglalkozik a mindösszesen 64 oldala... more A köztudatban nagyon eltérő módon jelenlévő nemi
szerepekkel foglalkozik a mindösszesen 64 oldalas
(kis) könyv, amelyet Laura Coltofean-Arizancu,
Bisserka Gaydarska és Uroš Matić szerkesztett,
valamint Nikola Radosavljevic illusztrált. A kiadvány jellegét angolul booklet-ként határozták meg,
ami ismertető, tájékoztató füzet vagy brossúra szavakkal fordítható le magyar nyelvre. Ezek azonban
nem teljesen adják vissza a kötetbe fektetett munka
jelentőségét és annak fontos üzenetét. Hiszen az
egykori közösségekben és jelen korunk társadalmában is meglévő nemi szerepeket, legjellemzőbb sztereotípiákat veszik a szerzők górcső alá, és oszlatják
el ezeket az általánosító és közel sem valós nemi
szerepekről megfogalmazott nézeteket.
Közvetlen magyar vonatkozása nincs a kötetnek,
ám az ebben felvázolt általános elméleti háttér és
a megkérdőjelezett nemi sztereotípiák révén a hazai
régészeti kutatóközösség számára is hasznos gondolkodásmóddal és gyakorlati megközelítéssel foglalkozik.
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Veritatis Imago, 2021
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ASOCIAŢIA ARHEO VEST TIMIŞOARA ARHEOVEST IX1 -IN HONOREM VALERIU SÎRBUInterdisciplinaritate în Arheologie și Istorie, 2021
The topic of the paper is to examine the social traces of cultural globalisation in prehistory, h... more The topic of the paper is to examine the social traces of cultural globalisation in prehistory, here particularly focussing on the Neolithic period in the Carpathian Basin. While at first look, globalisation theory might seem unfit to describe prehistoric communities, if we look close into, for example the neolithisation process and analyse it from an ecological, economical, and social perspective, we can identify many interconnections between communities, people, goods, food, plants, and animals. The word ‘globalisation’ is a widely used expression and also such a kind of umbrella term which covers a wide range of concepts belonging to a common category. The most generic definition of globalisation is a diverse intensity of movements and changes of people, objects and ideas all around the world. One of the most important key issues in the entire globalisation discussion are the spatial, temporal forms and intensities of the interactions.
We can look at the neolithisation processes, as the first or one of the first large-scale eco-social transformations of the basic behaviour in societies originating from the Near East, passing through the Carpathian Basin towards North-West-Europe. These processes transformed not only the environment, but also created the essential cultural phenomena dominating “Holocene” Europe. The spread of food-producing lifestyle and innovations resulted an increasingly intensive interactions in an ever wider geographic sense. I would like to investigate how the prehistoric lithic production activity related to the natural environment, and the social organisation in the context of globalisation.
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A tealevelektől a levélhegyekig.Tanulmányok Mester Zsolt tiszteletére 60. születésnapja alkalmából, 2021
A pattintott kőegyüttesek feldolgozásában használt technológiai szemlélet, az experimentációs (kí... more A pattintott kőegyüttesek feldolgozásában használt technológiai szemlélet, az experimentációs (kísérleti) vizsgálatok, valamint az értelmezésben használt antropológiai (kulturális antropológia, szociálantropológia, etnoarchaeológia) megközelítés, mind kiváló közeget jelentenek nem csak paleolitikus, hanem újkőkori leletanyagok értelmezésében egyaránt. A hagyományosan francia alapokon kialakult chaîne opératoire koncepció konzisztens keretszerkezetet teremtett egy közösség technológiai rendszerének azonosításához. Ez a megközelítés alkalmas arra, hogy a technológiai tudás, képességek és készségek, mint egyéni adottságok mellett számba vegye a közösség hagyományait és a körülötte lévő környezetet, amely befolyásolja a közösség kvalitásait (rendelkezésre álló megmunkálható nyersanyagok, jellemző eszközkészlet stb.). A megszokott régészeti interpretációban a neolitikus kőegyüttesek feldolgozásának elsődleges hasznosulása az adott közösség kapcsolatihálójának modellezésében érvényesül. A leletanyagok anyagiságukon (nyersanyag) túlmutató jellegzetességei mellett a technológiai szempontú vizsgálattal, a kőanyagot létrehozó közösség tevékenysége ismerhető meg. A kőeszközökön megfigyelhető technológiai stigmák alapján ezek a tevékenységek skálázhatók, így a településen kívüli és azon belüli aktivitások színterei és jellegzetességei válnak azonosíthatóvá, valamint az egyéni és közösségi szintű technikai fogások, gesztusok és rendszeresen ismétlődő – akár rituális – cselekedetek állapíthatók meg. A technológiai szempontú vizsgálattal a kőeszközkészítő, használó és depolánó tevékenységek skálázhatóságát és azoknak neolitikus narratívába történő szerves beillesztését egy késő újkőkori lelőhely példáján keresztül ismerteti jelen cikk.
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Élet és Tudomány, 2021
Egy időszakot leggyakrabban valamely jellemző tulajdonsága alapján határoznak meg és neveznek el,... more Egy időszakot leggyakrabban valamely jellemző tulajdonsága alapján határoznak meg és neveznek el, legyen szó geológiáról, régészetről vagy akár egy költő munkásságának életszakaszairól. Európában a régészeti korszakok közül az írást megelőző, vagyis az őskor esetén újonnan használt nyersanyagok és technológiai innovációk alapján különítik el őket. Az antropocén kifejezés a latin anthropo (emberi) és cene (új) kifejezésekből származik. Ezzel egészen addig nincs is semmilyen probléma, ameddig nem próbáljuk meg körülírni és egy bizonyos időponthoz kötni a korszakot. Mindez akkor válik csak kérdésessé és bonyolulttá, amikor olyan kérdésekre keressük a választ, és egyben az antropocén kifejezés meghatározását is, hogy milyen környezetátalakításhoz, jellegzetes tevékenységhez, nyersanyaghoz vagy technológiai innovációhoz kapcsolódik az ember kora.
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Veritatis Imago, 2021
Számos múzeumot, kiállítóhelyet, szabadtéri régészeti és nemzeti parkot, régészeti lelőhelyet és ... more Számos múzeumot, kiállítóhelyet, szabadtéri régészeti és nemzeti parkot, régészeti lelőhelyet és feltárást tekintettem meg Norvégiában a koronavírus okozta korlátozások mellett is a 2020-as évben. Észak-Európa társadalmi, kulturális, nyelvi, infrastrukturális, oktatási és intézményi szempontból is nagyon különbözik Közép-Kelet-Európa országaitól. A szakmai körút során tapasztalt muzeális impulzusokat kívánom bemutatni, amelyben igyekszem nem csak a puszta tények, leletek és adatok tömkelegét közvetíteni, hanem az általam megélt eseményeken keresztül próbálom átadni a kortárs észak-európai kulturális élet egy kis szeletét. Öt nagy egyetemen (University of Oslo, Stavanger, Bergen, Tromsø, Trondheim) folyik régészeti képzés és mindegyik esetben a múzeumok az egyetemekhez tartoznak, így garantálva a múzeumi kutatás és az egyetemi oktatás szerves kapcsolódását és egyensúlyát Norvégia egész területén. A Viking Hajó Múzeum és Munch Múzeum 2019 óta részlegesen zárva tartanak, ugyanis teljesen új, a műtárgyaknak megfelelő környezetet biztosító múzeumi épületeket alakítanak ki, hogy Norvégia világhírű kulturális örökségét méltó módon tudják bemutatni.
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Élet és Tudomány, 2021
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A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve, 2020
This article discusses an anthropological-archaeological exhibition, which was presented in Szege... more This article discusses an anthropological-archaeological exhibition, which was presented in Szeged and Târgu Mureş. We examine ist creation, basic concept, content-logical structure and visual presentation. In addition, our main goal is to discuss the conceptual milestones, that represent the main message of the exhibition from the curator’s perspective. Instead of only showing a topic through the items, we tried to actively form the visitor’s attitude towards the last station of the human existence. We consider the responsibilities, duties, positive and negative feedbacks in relation of the different life stages of the exhibition, which are inseparable from each other. Thus, the presented items and their context of conceptual and visual presentation constitute a coherent unit. This is exemplified by the joint presentation of the cooperation of the anthropological and archaeological research practice, presented through several stories, and in the end the visitors can become a little part of this.
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Reflections on Volcanic Glass: Proceedings of the 2021 International Obsidian Conference, 2024
Stone tools, although one of the most abundant facets of the archaeological record, have in the p... more Stone tools, although one of the most abundant facets of the archaeological record, have in the past almost exclusively been considered with regards to the transmission of technological traditions or cultural habits, expressed in the presence of “cultures” or “technocomplexes,” and too infrequently studied for their role within economic systems and systems of value. In the European Neolithic research tradition, studies of social organization
usually focus on exotic materials such as obsidian, jade, lapis lazuli, spondylus shells, early copper, or elaborate pottery. “Exotic,” in this context, means materials that have a recognizable visual appearance or that occur rarely, and with original sources that are well-known and can be clearly delineated (e.g., one mountain, one mine) or restricted to a small area. In this sense, obsidian provides an excellent opportunity to look closer
at the provenance approach to identifying the potential value of material in the past. To systematically examine the quantitative distribution and exchange of obsidian tools and their integration into community-specific systems of value is an approach that will help promote a better understanding of obsidian’s social and economic role in prehistory.
For this reason, this chapter focuses on the appearance of obsidian artifacts in a number of different archaeological contexts, including settlement
features, burials, and deposits (depots or hoards), to study the various forms of value in the Carpathian Basin.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Heitz, Wunderlich, Hinz, Furholt (eds): Rethinking Neolithic Societies. New Perspectives on Social Relations, Political Organization and Cohabitation. Leiden: Sidestone Press, 173-198, 2023
The paper focuses on Late Neolithic burial practices in the western part of the Carpathian Basin ... more The paper focuses on Late Neolithic burial practices in the western part of the Carpathian
Basin (Transdanubia). Here, the dominant narrative of the emergence of social inequality is
one that heavily focuses on a group of supposedly more valuable, or exotic “prestige items”,
whose existence is taken to indicate the elite status of the buried individual. This positivistic,
top-down approach has led to the idea of a socially ranked, male-dominated Neolithic society.
This narrative highlights some preselected features, objects, and burial types, while at the same
time more or less ignores most of the visible patterns of burial practices, which are deemed
“ordinary” or insignificant. To oppose this tendency, a bottom-up approach focuses on the
entirety of the accessible material, the archaeological features, and, more specifically, their
statistical and spatial patterns. The southeast Transdanubian region in the Late Neolithic is an
especially interesting region from this perspective; here, almost 3300 Lengyel burials are known,
providing a good basis on which to study the main patterns and characteristic features of the
burial practices and interpret them in the light of social organisation. For this reason, I use a
case study from the Late Neolithic Alsónyék site to apply a bottom-up approach, which suggests
a different interpretation of the whole burial practice than the established top-down narrative.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
From tea leaves to leaf-shaped tools. Studies in honour of Zsolt Mester on his sixtieth birthday, 2023
Lithic technological analysis, experimental studies, and ethnoarchaeology, together with cultural... more Lithic technological analysis, experimental studies, and ethnoarchaeology, together with cultural
and social anthropological approaches all provide excellent tools for the interpretation of knapped
stone artefacts – not only from the Palaeolithic era but the Neolithic as well. The fundamental concept
of chaîne opératoire was developed by French scholars studying Palaeolithic materials, providing a consistent
framework for the recognition of the technological system of a community. This approach can
take into account not only the technological knowledge, skills and abilities of the individual but also the
traditions of the community and the surrounding environment that influence the qualities of the community
(potential knappable raw materials, characteristic toolkits, etc.). By contrast, the conventional
archaeological approach to lithics too often narrowly focuses on the spatial distribution of raw materials,
and the occurrence of specialised tools, to reconstruct, for example, the communication networks
between communities. However, the technological approach can explore a broader range of activities
in more detail – stone tool production, usage and deposition. Observed technological traits of lithic
implements enable us to recognise these activities at different levels on spatial and social scales. Thus,
we can identify technical choices and gestures, as well as recurring activities, i.e. practices, even with a
ritual character, inside and outside the settlements, within the scopes of individuals, households or an
entire community. This paper presents a Late Neolithic case study on how the technological approach
facilitates the study of stone tool production on different levels, scales, their use and their deposition,
and integrates them into the Neolithic narrative.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Határtalan Régészet, 2023
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Határtalan Régészet, 2023
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Határtalan Régészet, 2023
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Archeometriai Műhely, 2022
The aim of this article is to present the experiences and new knowledge gained from the petroarch... more The aim of this article is to present the experiences and new knowledge gained from the petroarcheological training held in Cologne from 7 to 11 February 2022. I believe that this excellent example will support and promote the organisation of a similar course in the field of petroarchaeology in the Hungarian scientific community. Many enthusiastic and dedicated researchers do field surveys to search for previous potential useable lithic raw materials in Hungary too. The theoretical and practical framework of the well-constructed petroarcheological research presented in Cologne, and the presentation in this article will hopefully provide a fresh and new impulse for Hungarian experts, as it can be applied regardless of the area and language. In addition, the article includes an extended bibliography to provide a cross-section of publications on silicates and the concept of the evolutionary chain.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
"We should not, however, think that we are pioneers". Museum on Troubled Waters in the Past and Today, 2022
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Hungarian Archaeology, 2022
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Határtalan Régészet, 2022
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Archeometriai Műhely, 2021
The participants of the project have been involved in the provenance study of polished stone arte... more The participants of the project have been involved in the provenance study of polished stone artefacts for more than two decades (Szakmány & Starnini 1998, Biró 1998a, Biró & Szakmány 2000). In the framework of a fouryear project supported by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (project K-131814, launched in 2019) we are planning to construct a series of maps based on petrographical characterisation studies. The collected data will be stored in a web-based database for the use of project participants and the general public, basically experts interested in this special field. For this purpose, we are using, as a starting point, the MissMarble type database model constructed in MySQL system by J. Zöldföldi and P. Hegedűs (Zöldföldi et al. 2008). This model has been used in our previous database construction for pottery (CeraMis) and lithics (Litotéka), respectively (Zöldföldi et al. 2010, Biró & Hegedűs 2012). The current database is focussing on the petroarcheological (macroscopic and instrumental) investigation of polished stone tools. Data for the project are collected, partly, in the framework of the current project and our former studies, but we would like to integrate in this format the totality of the published information available to us. The sources of data are the records on macroscopic, microscopic and instrumental analysis for polished stone tools, measurement data, processed data from museum inventories and information published in the field, partly based on our own research and partly on information published by others. We are in the process of adapting the current database system to the specific problem; first of all, we plan to check and update the publications and material test documents to be processed.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Archeometriai Műhely, 2021
The article presents the archaeological part of a multidisciplinary project aimed at the archeome... more The article presents the archaeological part of a multidisciplinary project aimed at the archeometric study of the raw materials of prehistoric polished stone tools and ground stone tools, and the identification of potential geological sources of the raw material used to make them. From an archaeological point of view, the primary question for lithic provenance analysis is: what kind of rocks was used as raw materials in the Prehistory and where they came from, how far they were transported and in what quantities, in the form of raw materials, semifinished products or finished stone tools. It is important to reconstruct the stone tool making process from the technological perspective, and to establish the use and possible recycling operations. The new knowledge based on a large number of samples will help in the study of the relations, exchange/trade and information systems, land use and mobility of contemporary societies. Our results so far suggest that there are relatively few sources of raw materials suitable for the production of high-quality polished stone tools in the Carpathian Basin. The exploration of long-distance imported stone tools from areas beyond today's political boundaries is of great importance. The comparison of the material knowledge results of the present research and the exchange/trade systems of other raw materials (e.g. Spondylus shells, obsidian, flint), which can be used to study the origin, will help to gain a more detailed understanding of the spatial distribution of prehistoric communities, their communication, exchange and information systems, their socio-historical aspects and their changes over time.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Magyar Régészet, 2022
A köztudatban nagyon eltérő módon jelenlévő nemi szerepekkel foglalkozik a mindösszesen 64 oldala... more A köztudatban nagyon eltérő módon jelenlévő nemi
szerepekkel foglalkozik a mindösszesen 64 oldalas
(kis) könyv, amelyet Laura Coltofean-Arizancu,
Bisserka Gaydarska és Uroš Matić szerkesztett,
valamint Nikola Radosavljevic illusztrált. A kiadvány jellegét angolul booklet-ként határozták meg,
ami ismertető, tájékoztató füzet vagy brossúra szavakkal fordítható le magyar nyelvre. Ezek azonban
nem teljesen adják vissza a kötetbe fektetett munka
jelentőségét és annak fontos üzenetét. Hiszen az
egykori közösségekben és jelen korunk társadalmában is meglévő nemi szerepeket, legjellemzőbb sztereotípiákat veszik a szerzők górcső alá, és oszlatják
el ezeket az általánosító és közel sem valós nemi
szerepekről megfogalmazott nézeteket.
Közvetlen magyar vonatkozása nincs a kötetnek,
ám az ebben felvázolt általános elméleti háttér és
a megkérdőjelezett nemi sztereotípiák révén a hazai
régészeti kutatóközösség számára is hasznos gondolkodásmóddal és gyakorlati megközelítéssel foglalkozik.
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Veritatis Imago, 2021
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ASOCIAŢIA ARHEO VEST TIMIŞOARA ARHEOVEST IX1 -IN HONOREM VALERIU SÎRBUInterdisciplinaritate în Arheologie și Istorie, 2021
The topic of the paper is to examine the social traces of cultural globalisation in prehistory, h... more The topic of the paper is to examine the social traces of cultural globalisation in prehistory, here particularly focussing on the Neolithic period in the Carpathian Basin. While at first look, globalisation theory might seem unfit to describe prehistoric communities, if we look close into, for example the neolithisation process and analyse it from an ecological, economical, and social perspective, we can identify many interconnections between communities, people, goods, food, plants, and animals. The word ‘globalisation’ is a widely used expression and also such a kind of umbrella term which covers a wide range of concepts belonging to a common category. The most generic definition of globalisation is a diverse intensity of movements and changes of people, objects and ideas all around the world. One of the most important key issues in the entire globalisation discussion are the spatial, temporal forms and intensities of the interactions.
We can look at the neolithisation processes, as the first or one of the first large-scale eco-social transformations of the basic behaviour in societies originating from the Near East, passing through the Carpathian Basin towards North-West-Europe. These processes transformed not only the environment, but also created the essential cultural phenomena dominating “Holocene” Europe. The spread of food-producing lifestyle and innovations resulted an increasingly intensive interactions in an ever wider geographic sense. I would like to investigate how the prehistoric lithic production activity related to the natural environment, and the social organisation in the context of globalisation.
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A tealevelektől a levélhegyekig.Tanulmányok Mester Zsolt tiszteletére 60. születésnapja alkalmából, 2021
A pattintott kőegyüttesek feldolgozásában használt technológiai szemlélet, az experimentációs (kí... more A pattintott kőegyüttesek feldolgozásában használt technológiai szemlélet, az experimentációs (kísérleti) vizsgálatok, valamint az értelmezésben használt antropológiai (kulturális antropológia, szociálantropológia, etnoarchaeológia) megközelítés, mind kiváló közeget jelentenek nem csak paleolitikus, hanem újkőkori leletanyagok értelmezésében egyaránt. A hagyományosan francia alapokon kialakult chaîne opératoire koncepció konzisztens keretszerkezetet teremtett egy közösség technológiai rendszerének azonosításához. Ez a megközelítés alkalmas arra, hogy a technológiai tudás, képességek és készségek, mint egyéni adottságok mellett számba vegye a közösség hagyományait és a körülötte lévő környezetet, amely befolyásolja a közösség kvalitásait (rendelkezésre álló megmunkálható nyersanyagok, jellemző eszközkészlet stb.). A megszokott régészeti interpretációban a neolitikus kőegyüttesek feldolgozásának elsődleges hasznosulása az adott közösség kapcsolatihálójának modellezésében érvényesül. A leletanyagok anyagiságukon (nyersanyag) túlmutató jellegzetességei mellett a technológiai szempontú vizsgálattal, a kőanyagot létrehozó közösség tevékenysége ismerhető meg. A kőeszközökön megfigyelhető technológiai stigmák alapján ezek a tevékenységek skálázhatók, így a településen kívüli és azon belüli aktivitások színterei és jellegzetességei válnak azonosíthatóvá, valamint az egyéni és közösségi szintű technikai fogások, gesztusok és rendszeresen ismétlődő – akár rituális – cselekedetek állapíthatók meg. A technológiai szempontú vizsgálattal a kőeszközkészítő, használó és depolánó tevékenységek skálázhatóságát és azoknak neolitikus narratívába történő szerves beillesztését egy késő újkőkori lelőhely példáján keresztül ismerteti jelen cikk.
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Élet és Tudomány, 2021
Egy időszakot leggyakrabban valamely jellemző tulajdonsága alapján határoznak meg és neveznek el,... more Egy időszakot leggyakrabban valamely jellemző tulajdonsága alapján határoznak meg és neveznek el, legyen szó geológiáról, régészetről vagy akár egy költő munkásságának életszakaszairól. Európában a régészeti korszakok közül az írást megelőző, vagyis az őskor esetén újonnan használt nyersanyagok és technológiai innovációk alapján különítik el őket. Az antropocén kifejezés a latin anthropo (emberi) és cene (új) kifejezésekből származik. Ezzel egészen addig nincs is semmilyen probléma, ameddig nem próbáljuk meg körülírni és egy bizonyos időponthoz kötni a korszakot. Mindez akkor válik csak kérdésessé és bonyolulttá, amikor olyan kérdésekre keressük a választ, és egyben az antropocén kifejezés meghatározását is, hogy milyen környezetátalakításhoz, jellegzetes tevékenységhez, nyersanyaghoz vagy technológiai innovációhoz kapcsolódik az ember kora.
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Veritatis Imago, 2021
Számos múzeumot, kiállítóhelyet, szabadtéri régészeti és nemzeti parkot, régészeti lelőhelyet és ... more Számos múzeumot, kiállítóhelyet, szabadtéri régészeti és nemzeti parkot, régészeti lelőhelyet és feltárást tekintettem meg Norvégiában a koronavírus okozta korlátozások mellett is a 2020-as évben. Észak-Európa társadalmi, kulturális, nyelvi, infrastrukturális, oktatási és intézményi szempontból is nagyon különbözik Közép-Kelet-Európa országaitól. A szakmai körút során tapasztalt muzeális impulzusokat kívánom bemutatni, amelyben igyekszem nem csak a puszta tények, leletek és adatok tömkelegét közvetíteni, hanem az általam megélt eseményeken keresztül próbálom átadni a kortárs észak-európai kulturális élet egy kis szeletét. Öt nagy egyetemen (University of Oslo, Stavanger, Bergen, Tromsø, Trondheim) folyik régészeti képzés és mindegyik esetben a múzeumok az egyetemekhez tartoznak, így garantálva a múzeumi kutatás és az egyetemi oktatás szerves kapcsolódását és egyensúlyát Norvégia egész területén. A Viking Hajó Múzeum és Munch Múzeum 2019 óta részlegesen zárva tartanak, ugyanis teljesen új, a műtárgyaknak megfelelő környezetet biztosító múzeumi épületeket alakítanak ki, hogy Norvégia világhírű kulturális örökségét méltó módon tudják bemutatni.
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Élet és Tudomány, 2021
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A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve, 2020
This article discusses an anthropological-archaeological exhibition, which was presented in Szege... more This article discusses an anthropological-archaeological exhibition, which was presented in Szeged and Târgu Mureş. We examine ist creation, basic concept, content-logical structure and visual presentation. In addition, our main goal is to discuss the conceptual milestones, that represent the main message of the exhibition from the curator’s perspective. Instead of only showing a topic through the items, we tried to actively form the visitor’s attitude towards the last station of the human existence. We consider the responsibilities, duties, positive and negative feedbacks in relation of the different life stages of the exhibition, which are inseparable from each other. Thus, the presented items and their context of conceptual and visual presentation constitute a coherent unit. This is exemplified by the joint presentation of the cooperation of the anthropological and archaeological research practice, presented through several stories, and in the end the visitors can become a little part of this.
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International Obsidian Conference 2019, 2019
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by Kata Furholt (Szilágyi), Szilvia Fábián, Roderick B . Salisbury, Cserpák Ferenc, Norbert Faragó, Attila Péntek, Krisztian Zandler, Tóth Zoltán Henrik, Zsuzsanna Tóth, Mónika Gutay, and Sándor Béres
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by Jacqueline Balen, Katarina Botić, Lea Čataj, Ana Đukić, Eszter Fejér, András Füzesi, Gergely Gortva, Ferenc Horváth, Tomislav Hršak, János Jakucs, Hrvoje Kalafatić, Viktória Kiss, Marijana Krmpotic, Péter Mali, Tibor Marton, Jovan D . Mitrović, Krisztián Oross, Danimirka Podunavac, Dragana Rajković, Bartul Šiljeg, Kata Furholt (Szilágyi), and Selena Vitezović
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12. Kőkor Kerekasztal Konferencia, 2022
A Kárpát-medence megmunkálható kőnyersanyagainak széles palettája jól ismert és európai szinten i... more A Kárpát-medence megmunkálható kőnyersanyagainak széles palettája jól ismert és európai szinten is jól kutatottnak számít. Ezek közül különösen az obszidián, a bakonyi radiolarit (Szentgál) és tűzkő (Tevel) változatai Kárpát-medencén kívüli elterjedéssel, így nemzetközi érdeklődéssel is rendelkeznek. Ezeknek a kőzeteknek az elterjedése fontos szerepet játszik a közép-délkelet-európai távolsági cserehálózatokban. A poszter egyes kiemelkedő nyersanyagokról az őskori közösségek teljes kőeszköznyersanyagai felé fordítja a figyelmet, és a helyi környezet geológiai potenciáljának összefüggésére helyezi azokat. A gazdaságközpontú kutatási perspektíva helyett a helyi és regionális szinten vizsgálja a felhasznált kőzeteket feltételezhető társadalmi és rituális értékeit. A rendelkezésre álló kőzetek litosztratigráfiai jellemzői és a különböző kulturális-technológiai hagyományok jelentős változatosságot mutatnak a Kárpát-medencében. A kőanyagban gazdag és szegény régiókat hasonlítom össze annak érdekében, hogy számba vegyem azokat a paramétereket, amelyek aktívan alakíthatták egy-egy nyersanyag relatív értékét egy közösség életében. A gazdasági, társadalmi és rituális alapú értékformák különböző rétegeinek alaposabb ismerete segíthet jobban megérteni a kőzetek szerepét és értékeit a neolitikus és a rézkori közösségekben.
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11. Kőkor Kerekasztal Konferencia, 2021
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ISKM_poster presentation, 2021
The major scope of the lithic studies focuses on the provenance, typological and technological an... more The major scope of the lithic studies focuses on the provenance, typological and technological analysis, and their temporal and spatial distribution. Our knowledge about the quantitative and qualitative lithic data of Europe during the last few decades extremely have gained a lot. This fact is also promoting to research the lithic materials and their technologies as an element with significance to wider social questions. To systematically target the quantitative distribution and exchange of stone tools made from different raw materials and to examine their integration into culture-specific systems of value is an approach which will help to promote a better understanding of the social and economic role of lithics in the European prehistory.
Value is a subjective concept which is determined by social interaction in real life contexts and thus variable and culture specific. Nevertheless, it is crucial to have an idea of how, in what ways and what kind of values and value-systems governed prehistoric societies. There is a large amount of philosophical, anthropological an economical literature on the value concept. For prehistoric archaeology, however, a practical approach needs to be built upon archaeological objects and their contexts. Several archeological works have emphasized different forms of value, and different social contexts have inspired very diverse ways to conceptualize values. I separate three dimensions of value, which are determined by their involvement in different interconnected spheres of human experiences, and which are archaeologically detectable: (1) economic transactions, (2) social interaction, and (3) ritual practices. For this reason, I focus on the appearance of lithic artefacts in different archeological context, namely settlement features, burials and depositions (depots or hoards) to measure the different forms of value and better understand the specific value systems of the Neolithic communities in Central Europe.
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Alsónyék-Bátaszék is a very extensive Neolithic site in south-east Transdanubia (Tolna county). T... more Alsónyék-Bátaszék is a very extensive Neolithic site in south-east Transdanubia (Tolna county). The majority of the uncovered features could be assigned to the Late Neolithic Lengyel culture. Nearby 7000 pieces of stone tools came to light from borrowing-pits and burials. Two kinds of radiolarite prevail in the raw material distribution (Mecsek and Bakony type of radiolarite). The source of the Mecsek radiolarite signifies the local supply zone; this is the east part of the Mecsek Mountains which locates 15–30 kilometers from the site. The local radiolarite was regularly collected and was largely able to cater the raw material claim of the region. Actually the provenience investigation of Mecsek radiolarite stands in rudimentary level. We know the geological site of the local radiolarite from Komló, Hosszúhetény, Kisújbánya, Óbánya, Magyaregregy and Vékény.
The ratio of the local raw material is nearly equivalent among the settlement finds and the burial grave goods. Based on the amount of cores and flakes, we can presume that there was a systematic stone tool production on the settlement. The preparation and preliminary flakes occur in low amount which refers that shaping of cores happened outside the settlement. The stone assemblage at Alsónyék is almost identical to the stone collections, which came to light from emblematic sites of the Lengyel culture in south-east Transdanubia. The scale of raw materials and the dominance of blades show very similar tendency among these sites.
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The aim of ISzAP Project The Ipoly-Szécsény Archaeological Project (ISzAP) is a new research proj... more The aim of ISzAP Project The Ipoly-Szécsény Archaeological Project (ISzAP) is a new research project examining interregional trade networks, cultural change, and human-environmental interactions in the northern Carpathian Basin and its surroundings. Interpreting social structures, social interactions, and human-environmental interactions from archaeological data is essential both for understanding the past and informing the present. The ISzAP project area centres on the Szécsény–Ültetés archaeological site and includes its surrounding area in the Nógrád Basin at the northern part of Cserhát Mountain and Ipoly Valley. Previous research on the Neolithic of the Nógrád basin and Ipoly valley is very limited. Excavations at Szécsény–Ültetés and another local site, Karancsság–Alsó-rétek, indicate that the earliest farming occupation of the region was likely during the Notenkopf and Zseliz periods of the LBK, and suggest that the Ipoly and Zagyva Rivers served as important transportation routes during the Neolithic. The Middle Neolithic settlement Szécsény–Ültetés appears to have played a pivotal role in processes of interaction and exchange, as ceramics and lithics from Ültetés, and the few other examined sites indicate extensive exchange networks extending east west across the northern edge of the Carpathian Basin, and down the Danube and Tisza rivers, including both eastern and western LBK variants, Bükk, Notenkopf, Szakálhát, and Vinča. A principal aim of the project is to locate Middle Neolithic settlements through systematic filed survey; to map the cultural, economic, and ideological interconnections between these settlements; and to determine the direction of the connections. However, we have also the opportunity to study a broader time span, because all prehistoric and historic periods are identified through our surface survey, and the results will be utilized for long-term comparative analyses.
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11. Kőkor Kerekasztal - Programfüzet, 2021
Alsónyék-Bátaszék neolitikus (Kr. e. kb. 5800–4500 cal BC) településről és temetkezéseiből össze... more Alsónyék-Bátaszék neolitikus (Kr. e. kb. 5800–4500 cal BC) településről és temetkezéseiből összesen 668 db csiszolt kőeszközt tártak föl. A teljes leletegyüttes adatbázisba integrálása, tételes és részletes feldolgozása kezdődött meg 2021-ben. Alkalmazott munkamódszerünkben geológusok és régészek együtt vizsgálják a leletanyagot, szem előtt tartva azt az alapelvet, hogy mind a régészeti (tipokronológiai meghatározás, technológiai jegyek azonosítása), mind a geológiai (kőzettani meghatározás, a kőeszközök nyersanyagcsoportjainak azonosítása, származási helyének lehatárolása) vizsgálatok azonos fontosságúak.
Eddigi vizsgálataink eredménye alapján a csiszolt kőeszközök nyersanyagának jelentős része a lelőhelyhez közeli Mecsek hegységből származik (elsősorban az alsó-kréta alkáli bázisos magmatitok változatai, emellett kisebb mennyiségben foltos márga, bitumenes mészkő, szpikulit). A helyi, vagyis a Mecsek és közvetlen környezetében előforduló kőzettípusok mellett fontos távolsági nyersanyagokból készült kőeszközök is előfordulnak: elsősorban szerpentinit, kontakt-metabázit (elsősorban az ún. Železný Brod típus), hornfels, „fehérkő” mellett a ritkábban előforduló Na-piroxenit, eklogit és nefrit, amelyek cseh-masszívumbeli, erdélyi, bánsági, illetve alpi régiókat jeleznek nyersanyag forrásterületként. Elsődleges eszköztípusként nyéllyukas balta, kőfejsze, lapos balta (laposvéső), kaptafa alakú balta és buzogány fordulnak elő. Megfigyeléseink során az egyes fő kőzettípusok és a balták elsődleges alakja között számos esetben észleltünk összefüggést. Például az alsó-kréta alkáli magmatitokból jellegzetes, hosszirányban mindkét oldalán lekeskenyedő alakú nyéllyukas balták készültek elsősorban, fehérkőből zömök, lapos vésőbalták, kisebb részben kaptafa alakú balták, valamint buzogányok készültek. A kiemelkedően jó minőségű nyersanyagokból (pl. kontakt metabázit, hornfels, illetve „fehérkő”) készült távolsági import kőeszközök esetében úgy tűnik, hogy azok mérete általában jelentősen kisebb, mint a nyersanyag-lelőhelyükhöz közeli területeken végzett ásatásokból előkerült, ugyanezen nyersanyagból készült kőeszközöké, valamint a helyi nyersanyagokból készült kőeszközöké, vagyis azokat a végletekig használták. A sírokból előkerült balták között nagy különbség mutatkozik a megmunkálást illetően. Számos, a temetkezésekből előkerült balta finoman kidolgozott és tökéletesen csiszolt, amelyeken szabad szemmel nem látható használati kopásnyom. Ugyanakkor a telepről származó kőeszközökön kopás, újraélezés, használatból származó csorbulások és törések figyelhetők meg.
Munkánk további célja a nyersanyagcsoportok és beszerzési zónák megállapítása és pontosítása, amit kőzettani és geokémiai, az esetek zömében roncsolásmentes nagyműszeres vizsgálatok alkalmazásával kívánunk elvégezni. Régészeti oldalról a baltakészítés technológiai műveletsorának rekonstrukciója mellett az Alsónyéken élt újkőkori közösségek környezethasználatáról, helyismereti és kőzettani tudásáról, kőeszközkészítő tevékenységéről, valamint a temetkezési szokásról kaphatunk újabb ismeretanyagot a csiszolt kőeszközök perspektívájából.
Munkánkat az NFKI (OTKA) K 131814 számú pályázata támogatja.
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11. Kőkor Kerekasztal - Programfüzet, 2021
A kőeszközkutatás legfőbb fókuszpontjai a proveniencia vizsgálat, a leletek tipológiai és technol... more A kőeszközkutatás legfőbb fókuszpontjai a proveniencia vizsgálat, a leletek tipológiai és technológiai elemzése, azoknak időbeli-térbeli eloszlása, valamint az egykori használatukat bizonyító kopásnyomok azonosítása. Az elmúlt évtizedek során rendkívül sokat gyarapodott ismeretünk a Közép-Európában elterjedt kőzetek és azokból készült eszközök mennyiségi és minőségi adatairól. Ez a tény is elősegíti a kőegyütteseket és készítésük technológiai ismeretanyagának erősebb integrációját a társadalomrégészeti vizsgálatokba. Valamint hozzájárul, hogy a litikus adatokat primer információhordozó leletekként kezeljük a kerámia, radiokarbon és izotóp adatok mellett. A kőeszközök előkerülésének, elterjedésének és cseréjének szisztematikus vizsgálata, valamint az adott közösség értékrendszereinek kutatása olyan megközelítés, amely elősegíti a kőeszközök társadalmi és gazdasági szerepének jobb megértését az európai őstörténetben.
Az érték egy szubjektív fogalom, amelyet különböző társadalmi interakciók határoznak meg, ezért igen változatos és egy közösségre jellemző (kultúrspecifikus). Alapvető fontosságú, hogy képet kapjunk arról, hogyan, milyen módon és milyen értékek és értékrendszerek befolyásolták és jelentettek mércét az őskori társadalmaknak. Az érték fogalmával kapcsolatban nagy mennyiségű filozófiai, kulturális antropológiai, etikai és közgazdasági szakirodalom áll rendelkezésre. David Graeber antropológus munkája alapján az értékek három dimenzióját különítem el, amelyeket az emberi tapasztalatok különböző, egymással összefüggő szféráiban való érintettségük határoznak meg, és amelyek régészetileg kimutathatók: (1) gazdasági tranzakciók, (2) társadalmi interakciók és (3) rituális gyakorlatok. Ezért az érték különböző formáinak mérése és a közép-európai neolitikus közösségek sajátos értékrendszerének jobb megértése érdekében a kőeszközök különböző régészeti kontextusokba (település jelenségek, temetkezések és depozitumok) való megjelenésére összpontosítok.
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EAA 2021 Abstract book, 2021
This paper investigates in what way the quantity of raw material extraction, circulation, product... more This paper investigates in what way the quantity of raw material extraction, circulation, production and use of objects is connected to changes in the social systems (social complexity, inequality). To study this question, it is of crucial importance to understand the different dimensions of value of lithic artefacts. Value is a subjective concept which is determined by social interaction in real life contexts and thus variable and culture/society specific. Nevertheless, it is crucial to have an idea of how, in what ways and what kind of values and value-systems governed prehistoric societies.
Current accounts of the emergence of social inequality during the Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic period in Southeast Europe are as yet mostly based upon the presence of a few richly furnished burials, interpreted as expressions of individual social status and thus social inequality of the communities in question. However, the economic basis of this potential process of social stratification is poorly understood, due to a lack of systematic and quantifiable data on its economic background, such as raw material use and circulation during the period before and during the potential social transformation.
Studies of social organization normally focus on exotic materials, like Spondylus shells and early copper, or elaborate pottery. To systematically target the quantitative distribution and exchange of stone tools made from different raw materials and to examine their integration into culture-specific systems of value is an approach that fully integrates lithic studies and studies of the development of social systems. This will help to promote a better understanding of the social and economic role of lithic materials in prehistory and it will provide a more solid, quantitative basis for studies of socio-economic developments.
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EAA 2021 Abstract book, 2021
One of the most prominent habits of archaeologists is to take something that exists today and tra... more One of the most prominent habits of archaeologists is to take something that exists today and trace ‘its roots’ in prehistory, i.e. the first appearance or the oldest letter, alphabet, writing, burial, monument, enclosure system, etc, thus generating a teleological narrative which mostly leads to glorification or even naturalisation of our current conditions. This is very much the case for the emergence of social inequality, stratified society, chiefs and elites, often portrayed as an evolutionary process of gradual unfolding of a natural, or unavoidable social state. This critique is directed both at the Liberal as well as the Marxist tradition. Recent theory, for example in the context of Degrowth and Post-colonialism, has objected that these traditional schools of thought presuppose a universality of material extraction, the accumulation of material goods, and an imperative of growth as the main values underlying the formation of social systems, and pointed out that these are in fact not human universals but specific historical characteristics of the modern capitalist world-system. Similarly, Anarchist perspectives in anthropology, history and archaeology have pointed to a second set of faulty premises baked into traditional Political Economy accounts, namely the idea that competition, dominance behaviour, war, racism and xenophobia would be the main drivers of history, while the empirical evidence and experience of cooperation, mutual aid, altruism, solidarity and common property are systematically ignored as factors shaping social systems. We want to use these insights to discuss the alternative scenarios of social organisation such a change of perspectives will have for our view of prehistoric social organization.
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International Obsidian Conference, 2021
Stone tools, although being one of the most abundant find categories in the archaeological record... more Stone tools, although being one of the most abundant find categories in the archaeological record, have in the past almost exclusively been considered with regards to the transmission of technological traditions or cultural habits, expressed in the presence of ‘cultures’ or `technocomplexes`, but not explicitly in its role in economic systems and systems of value. In the European Neolithic research tradition, studies of social organization usually focus on exotic materials, like obsidian, spondylus shells, early copper, or elaborate pottery. To systematically target the quantitative distribution and exchange of obsidian tools and to examine their integration into culture-specific systems of value is an approach, which will help to promote a better understanding of the social and economic role of obsidian in prehistory.
Value is a subjective concept which is determined by social interaction in real life contexts and thus variable and culture specific. Nevertheless, it is crucial to have an idea of how, in what ways, and what kind of values and value-systems governed prehistoric societies. There is a large amount of philosophical, anthropological, and economical literature on the value concept (summarized e.g., by Graeber 2001). For prehistoric archaeology, however, a practical approach needs to be built upon archaeological objects and their contexts. Several archeological works have emphasized different forms of value, and different social contexts have inspired very diverse ways to conceptualize values. I separate three dimensions of value, which are determined by their involvement in different interconnected spheres of human experiences, and which are archaeologically detectable: (1) economic transactions, (2) social interaction, and (3) ritual practices. For this reason, I focus on the appearance of obsidian artefacts in different archeological contexts, namely settlement features, burials, and depositions (depots or hoards) to measure the different forms of value and better understand the specific value systems of the communities in the Carpathian Basin.
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Submission Deadline 15.10.24 We would like to invite studies that present and discuss old and ... more Submission Deadline 15.10.24
We would like to invite studies that present and discuss old and new settlement plans from the 7th millennium BCE until the 5th century AD, and that discuss the underlying
social models and resulting social narratives in Pre-, and Protohistoric Europe. We also welcome those contributors who do multidisciplinary field research to discuss the possibilities and new challenges of combining different sensory and analytical methods.
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Cultures, Pitfalls, Mass Data: Obstacles in the Analytical Archaeology, 2024
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Since the emergence of phenomenological approaches in archaeology, there has been a wide apprecia... more Since the emergence of phenomenological approaches in archaeology, there has been a wide appreciation of the epistemological importance of understanding how people perceived their environment, rather than creating disembodied representations of it (often claimed to be ‘objective’). With the advent of material agency and post-phenomenological theories, the understanding of past human perception and how it was influenced by the material world has become even more vital, highlighting the need to develop appropriate methodologies to answer these questions. Methods for studying human perception have evolved in archaeology from the pioneering studies in landscape archaeology, such as viewshed analysis using GIS and the study of site acoustics, to more recent cheriotic approaches and eye-tracking methods. Yet, bearing weight on these approaches is the recognition that, because humans are socialised in different ways, there may not be a clear way to characterise a 'model' of feeling, thinking or doing that pertains to all humans. Consequently, the meaning of how we perceive the world today may not correspond to how people perceived it in the past, i.e. contra 'presentism'. One potential solution, which XSCAPE (ERC-funded project) is trying, is to substitute the “how” of perception as content, for the “how” of perception as a way: what cognitive processing tell us about past and present perceptions and how this is influenced by the material world.
The session aims to discuss methods/techniques used for the study of past human perception, attempting to integrate methodological innovations with more established ones in our discipline. Secondly, we wish to enquire on the limitations of assuming universal models of human perception and how we might be able to address them. We welcome papers that bring forth new perceptual methods for archaeological research and concrete applications in specific case studies, as well as submissions that critically engage with questions about presentism.
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Prehistory of politics – politics of prehistory, 2023
Prehistoric societies are much too often treated as ‘people without history’, and without politic... more Prehistoric societies are much too often treated
as ‘people without history’, and without politics.
They are portrayed as static, internally coherent
and without the possibility to formulate and enact
political agendas and actions. Change is usually
attributed to external impulses, such as climate and
ecological effects, diseases, demographic change, or
immigration. In Western mainstream archaeology,
politics, if discussed at all, is mostly seen as restricted
to the realm of chiefs or vaguely defined elites, and
is usually treated as a matter of top-down exercise
of power, or conflicts between such chiefs and elites.
This obviously has a lot to do with our modern social
and political system, and with our view of ourselves
as well as of prehistoric people.
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The session focuses on the local and regional importance of lithic raw material in the Carpathian... more The session focuses on the local and regional importance of lithic raw material in the Carpathian Basin and its surrounding area during the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. Provenance studies and multidisciplinary research have created a huge amount of data, which can provide an adequate basis of information and evidence to study the connections between prehistoric communities. The dynamic exchange pathways created wide networks between communities, which provide an excellent basis for research on chronological issues, social inequalities, diverse social and economic interconnections in past societies. Beyond the supra regional scale, economically-minded research perspective, we would like to focus on the local or regional lithic material, which were more or less constantly available for a community. We also would like to consider the same issue in the non-mountain area, where the communities probably had to have another connection, behaviour and value concept towards the lithic artefacts. We would like to consider what the local region could mean for the prehistoric communities from a lithic perspective, and what kind of skills and knowledge were important for the procurement activities. The aim of this session is to discuss the details of all kinds of lithic tools (chipped and polished stone artefacts, macroliths), compare the different periods and focus on diachronic changes from the social archaeological perspective.
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The session focuses on the Carpathian Basin as a social and cultural melting pot during the Neoli... more The session focuses on the Carpathian Basin as a social and cultural melting pot during the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. Due to its location at the interface of diverse environments and historical landscapes it had the character of a contact zone and was an arena for numerous instances of interaction, which resulted in manifold forms of material culture linking distinct parts of Eurasia. In the past, archeologists aimed to tackle the challenges of interpreting the materials by creating various cultural groups and studying their chronological positioning. In the last decades new research methods (e.g. Bayesian approach of radiocarbon dating, multidisciplinary field survey, aDNA) together with new theoretical perspectives provided the means of studying materials, sites or microregions in a refined fashion. As a result, the prehistoric narratives of regional and supra-regional level have become increasingly detailed (event-based resolution). The arising challenge is twofold: firstly, the integration of heterogenous datasets and contradictory perspectives on the past, secondly, to implement findings into scientifically-sound concepts (social organization, landscape perception, technological studies), and, lastly, to integrate the dynamics of the distinguished aspects.
The aim of this session is to discuss the details of transmission and transformation processes from the social archaeological perspective, compare the different periods and focus on diachronic change. We would like to consider the ways of integrating legacy and recent datasets towards answering new questions related to the Carpathian Basin.
We welcome contributions to the following questions:
-How did new traditions, ideas and practices spread between the Carpathian Basin and adjacent regions?
-How can different research methods be used to formulate coherent models on settlement patterns, natural environment and social organization?
-How can we quantify the scales of the transformation in different periods?
-How are current research models and theories affecting the interpretation of past findings?
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magyarmuzeumok.hu, 2021
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magyarmuzeumok.hu, 2022
Thor Heyerdahl neve nem csak a régészet iránt érdeklődőknek cseng ismerősen, hanem azoknak is, ak... more Thor Heyerdahl neve nem csak a régészet iránt érdeklődőknek cseng ismerősen, hanem azoknak is, akik néprajzzal, régészettel, történelemmel, hajózással vagy a természet és az óceánok védelmével foglalkoznak. Norvégia fővárosába, Osloba kell azoknak ellátogatni, akik a nagy tengeri utazásokról, a déli sark feltérképezéséről, vagy a viking hajózás részleteiről szeretnének többet megtudni.
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OSPA - Open Series in Prehistoric Archaeology No. 5, 2023
OPEN ACCESS: https://www.sidestone.com/books/rethinking-neolithic-societies Traditional archae... more OPEN ACCESS: https://www.sidestone.com/books/rethinking-neolithic-societies
Traditional archaeological ideas about Neolithic societies were shaped by questionable premises. The modern concept of social and cultural coherence of residence groups as well as the ethnic interpretation of ‘archaeological cultures’ fostered ideas of static and homogeneous social entities with fixed borders. Farming – as the core of the Neolithic way of life – was associated with sedentariness rather than with spatial mobility and cross-regional social networks. Furthermore, the widely used (neo-)evolutionist thinking universally assumed a growing social complexity and hierarchisation during prehistory. After all, such ‘top-down’–perspectives deprived individuals and groups of genuine agency and creativity while underestimating the relational dynamic between the social and material worlds. In recent years, a wide array of empirical results on social practices related to material culture and settlement dynamics, (inter-)regional entanglements and spatial mobility were published. For the latter the adoption of the relatively new scientific methods in archaeology like Stable Isotope Analysis as well as aDNA played a crucial role. Yet the question of possible inferences regarding spatial and temporal differences in forms of social organisation has not been addressed sufficiently.
The aim of this volume is therefore to rethink former top-down concepts of Neolithic societies by studying social practices and different forms of Neolithic social life by adopting bottom-up social archaeological perspectives. Furthermore, the validity and relevance of terms like ‘society’, ‘community’, ‘social group’ etc. will be discussed. The contributions reach from theoretical to empirical ones and thematize a variety of social theoretical approaches as well as methodological ways of combining different sorts of data. They show the potential of such bottom-up approaches to infer models of social practices and configurations which may live up to the potential social diversity and dynamism of Neolithic societies. The contribution shed light on spatial mobility, social complexity, the importance of (political) interests and factors of kinship etc. We hope that this volume, with its focus on the Neolithic of Europe, will contribute to the ongoing critical debates of theories and concepts as well as on our premises and perspectives on Neolithic societies in general – and the practices of social archaeology as such.
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