Multidisciplinary Contributions to the Study of Pit Grave Culture Kurgans of the Great Hungarian Plain (original) (raw)
Related papers
"Among other issues, there is the problem of when the Avar cemeteries were abandoned for good, which cannot be resolved based only on the radiocarbon series: the calibration curve gives no unambiguous answers, although a number of features suggest that the Avar cemeteries—at least the ones—were still in use for a long time during the 9th century AD, probably well after the arrival of the ‘Conquering Hungarians’. At the same time, the two sampled Late Avar sites in the Great Hungarian Plain are out of the areas affected by the Carolingian invasion or the Bulgarian military campaigns, probably having profound effects on the population and social, economic and cultural structures of the territories impacted; synchronising the record with the timeline of Carolingian-type sites is also a task for future research. In conclusion, as large radiocarbon series as possible are needed from as many sites as possible to join the histories of the peoples residing in the Carpathian Basin in the 7th–10th centuries AD in a single narrative, outlining the cultural and social processes of the area and period in question."
2012
Isotopic analyses of human tooth enamel are increasingly applied to provide answers to archaeological questions. 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and 18 O analyses are used to investigate small-and large-scale mobility and migration of prehistoric human individuals. Within a pilot study looking into the kurgan graves in the Eastern Carpathian Basin, we analysed the tooth enamel of 8 humans from the Early Bronze Age burial mound of Sárrétudvari-Ő rhalom, Hungary. According to the archaeological record, the kurgan is linked to the Northern Pontic Yamnaya regional groups. Certain foreign burial traditions suggest that the connection is close, or even that the individuals buried in the mound had migrated from the East into the Great Hungarian Plain. Strontium and oxygen isotope analyses reveal an earlier period of 'local' burials, spanning the period 3300-2900 BC, followed by burials that postdate 2900 BC that exhibit 'nonlocal' isotopic signatures. The combination of the isotope values and the grave goods associated with the nonlocal burials point to the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains as the nearest location representing a possible childhood origin of this nonlocal group.
Excellence Cluster 264 TOPOI, based at the Freie Universität and Humboldt-Universität in Berlin
Isotopic analyses of human tooth enamel are increasingly applied to provide answers to archaeological questions. 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and 18 O analyses are used to investigate small-and large-scale mobility and migration of prehistoric human individuals. Within a pilot study looking into the kurgan graves in the Eastern Carpathian Basin, we analysed the tooth enamel of 8 humans from the Early Bronze Age burial mound of Sárrétudvari-Ő rhalom, Hungary. According to the archaeological record, the kurgan is linked to the Northern Pontic Yamnaya regional groups. Certain foreign burial traditions suggest that the connection is close, or even that the individuals buried in the mound had migrated from the East into the Great Hungarian Plain. Strontium and oxygen isotope analyses reveal an earlier period of 'local' burials, spanning the period 3300-2900 BC, followed by burials that postdate 2900 BC that exhibit 'nonlocal' isotopic signatures. The combination of the isotope values and the grave goods associated with the nonlocal burials point to the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains as the nearest location representing a possible childhood origin of this nonlocal group.
New Approaches Using Stable Isotopes and Genetics
Isotopic analyses of human tooth enamel are increasingly applied to provide answers to archaeological questions. 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and 18 O analyses are used to investigate small-and large-scale mobility and migration of prehistoric human individuals. Within a pilot study looking into the kurgan graves in the Eastern Carpathian Basin, we analysed the tooth enamel of 8 humans from the Early Bronze Age burial mound of Sárrétudvari-Ő rhalom, Hungary. According to the archaeological record, the kurgan is linked to the Northern Pontic Yamnaya regional groups. Certain foreign burial traditions suggest that the connection is close, or even that the individuals buried in the mound had migrated from the East into the Great Hungarian Plain. Strontium and oxygen isotope analyses reveal an earlier period of 'local' burials, spanning the period 3300-2900 BC, followed by burials that postdate 2900 BC that exhibit 'nonlocal' isotopic signatures. The combination of the isotope values and the grave goods associated with the nonlocal burials point to the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains as the nearest location representing a possible childhood origin of this nonlocal group.
V. Heyd, G. Kulcsár and V. Szeverényi (eds.): BUDAPEST 2013 TRANSITIONS TO THE BRONZE AGE Interregional Interaction and Socio-Cultural Change in the Third Millennium BC Carpathian Basin and Neighbouring Regions. Archaeolingua Kiadó, Budapest (2013) 153-179., 2013
The aim of our paper is to provide analytical data to the multidisciplinary research of Pit Grave culture kurgans of the Carpathian Basin. The data presented in the following have chronological, cultural, environmental and anthropological implications. People of the Pit Grave culture inhabited the Carpathian Basin during the Late Copper and Early Bronze Age. Radiocarbon dates of Pit Grave culture kurgans and other contemporary cultures help to integrate this cultural complex in the prehistory of the Carpathian Basin. Environmental data – from two archaeological sites – provide detailed information on the environmental setting this culture lived in, and information on nutritional habits as well as burial rituals.
Silvia Mustaţă, Vlad-Andrei Lăzărescu, Vitalie Bârcă, Viorica Rusu-Bolindeţ and Dan Matei eds., FABER. Studies in honour of Sorin Cosiş at his 65th anniversary, Mega, Cluj-Napoca., 2022
Radiocarbon dating of Bronze Age graves, especially if they contain cremated bones, has been a long desired and needed research goal in the archaeology of the Eastern Carpathian Basin. Cherry-picked single dating of graves with lavish inventories did take place, but a systematic selection of these eluded us. The two burial grounds from which graves are dated by means of radiocarbon measurements have at least regional chronological value, as they both represent short periods of transition from the LCA to the EBA and from the MBA III to the LBA I. The further importance of dating several interments from Dumbrăviţa – Stricata rests on the fact that all of them are incineration burials and there is a dire lack of such dated samples. Many specialists of the period in the region shy away from dating cremated bones, due to their uncertainty of navigating the available methods of pretreatment. The consistency of the resulted data is meant to levitate if not all than at least most concerns and provide some well-grounded literature on the reason for the chosen laboratory methods.
Radiocarbon, 2021
The Early and Middle Bronze Age in the Carpathian Basin is often viewed as a long period of transition from a dispersed form of land occupation to one of increasing aggregation, ultimately resulting in the formation of tell settlements and large cemeteries. This developmental trajectory remains a legacy of early 20th century archaeology, where the similarity of material culture recovered from cemeteries and settlements was used to develop a multi-linear scheme of progression of regional chronologies tied to specific archaeological cultures. While typologically conclusive, the recent increase in the availability of radiocarbon determinations suggests that these sequences represent a priori interpretation of social development rather than empirically verified observations. In order to do so, it is necessary to re-evaluate the existing dataset in order to determine whether the formation of tells was a chronologically contemporary development and whether the regional chronological sequences are supported by independent dating.
2018
Early Hungarian history, better known as Hungarian prehistory, is a research area with scarce written sources. Consequently, archaeology, as a scientifi c discipline boasting a rapidly increasing number of sources, may acquire signifi cant importance in this area. This is a fact even if from a methodological perspective, the historical and ethnic assessment of archaeological fi ndings must satisfy much stricter criteria than before. To arrive at a reliable historical interpretation, we would need to be familiar with the ethnic identity of the original owners of the archaeological fi ndings as well as with their political affi liation, which obviously surpasses the scope of archaeology. Nevertheless, thorough knowledge about the contemporary, signifi cant archaeological diff erences between the Eastern European grassy and forest steppes, forest regions, and the microregions of the former makes it possible to research migration with traditional archaeological methods. Completing our i...