Online presentation given at the Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel
The online lecture was given by Dr Viktória Kiss, the PI of the Momentum Mobility Research Group, detailing the methodologies, international collaborations and the results their work produced. The presentation was part of the Archäologisches Kolloquium series run by the Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel, Germany, 15th of February, 2021.
Bioarchaeological study of skeletal and cremation burials
The presentation summarised the research carried out on Early and Middle Bronze Age burials excavated in the central part of the Carpathian Basin, as well as on settlements, including the examination of metal artefacts. Bioarchaeological analyses conducted on skeletal and cremation burials were able to shed more light on the burials of children, gender identity and social inequality, through which the issue of settlement burials and evidence for Bronze Age violence were also touched upon. The results of these studies have recently been published (Dani et al. 2016; Gömöri et al. 2018; Melis 2020; Melis et al. 2020; Szeverényi–Kiss 2018; Szeverényi et al. 2020a, 2020b).
Érd-Hosszúföldek feature 806, perimortem injury on a 4-5 year old child’s skull (after Szeverényi et al. 2020b, Fig. 18)
Among the latest data there are 150 new AMS radiocarbon samples, thanks to which the number of modern absolute dates known from the Bronze Age Hungary have doubled (P. Fischl 2013, 2015; Kiss et al. 2019). The radiocarbon dating of cremation burials is a novel approach here, conducted in collaboration with the Atomki IKER laboratory for the first time in Hungarian Bronze Age research (Dani et al. 2019a; Kiss et al. 2019; Major et al. 2019).
The physical anthropological study of cca 2000 cremated human remains have led to several interesting conclusions. Results suggest that the cremation of the body was usually carried out in the days following the individual’s death, with no prolonged treatment of the body (Király 2017). The cremated remains were then all collected; selection processes targeting certain parts of the body can only be observed during the later period of the Bronze Age (Köhler et al. in print). Sr isotope and aDNA analyzes performed on human remains imply that among the Early and Middle Bronze Age communities many non-locals can be identified; in some cases the ratio of non-locals can reach 40% of the entire dataset (Giblin et al. 2019). By this, several forms of mobility can be assumed: one-way immigration involving communities, where women, men and children can also be found among newcomers, e.g. in the case of Bell Beaker culture (Price 2004; Kulcsár 2011; Olalde et al. 2018). In the Middle Bronze Age, however, a greater number of mobile women can be observed, perhaps explained by exogamy, i.e. male members of communities chose their wives from more distant lands. Interactions are also indicated by trade networks (Kiss 2020a). In addition, international collaborative studies of burials of this period also examined the spread of cremation rites in Central Europe (Cardarelli et al. 2020).
Microregional research, metallurgical analyses
The lecture covered advances of micro-regional research including modern GIS methods in the processing of archival and more recent settlement and cemetery data, and also field surveys using GPS and geophysical measurements (Gömöri et al. 2018; Jaeger et al. 2018; Dani et al. 2019b; Szathmári et al. 2019; Melis et al. in print).
Tests carried out by the Budapest Neutron Centre revealed the production technique of metal artefacts, and implied the importance of regional ore sources and trade relations in both the Early and the Middle Bronze Age (Kiss et al. 2015; Maróti et al. 2017; Melis 2019; Szentmiklósi et al. 2018; Kiss 2020a, 2020b). Metallographic examinations of artefacts from cremation burials, in cooperation with the University of Miskolc and the University of Debrecen made it possible to establish that some ornaments were subject to secondary burning, thus these artefacts were placed on the pyre together with the deceased. Several other metal objects, however, were not exposed to fire, highlighting the complexity of burial practices (Kovács et al. 2019).
Copper and bronze grave goods from skeletal and cremation burials of the Bonyhád Biogas factory (after Kovács et al. 2019, Fig. 2)
Thanks to the invitation of an outstanding university in prehistoric research, the online lecture was followed from several countries, so despite the epidemic situation, it was a good opportunity to share our results not only with university students but also with European archaeologists.
References:
Cardarelli, A., Cavazzuti, C., Fritzl, M., Gavranovic, M., Hajdu, T., Kiss, V., Köhler, K., Kulcsár, G., Melis, E., Rebay-Salisbury, K., Szabó, G., Szeverényi, V.: The connections between the plains of the Po and the Danube during the Bronze Age seen through the spread of the urnfield model. In: Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche 70 (2020) – Numero speciale, Italia tra Mediterraneo ed Europa: mobilità, interazioni e scambi, 225–238.
Dani, J., P. Fischl, K., Kulcsár,G., Szeverényi, V., Kiss, V.: Visible and invisible inequality in Early and Middle Bronze Age Hungary. In: Meller, H.–Hahn, H.-P.–Jung, R.–Risch, R. (Hrsg.): Arm und Reich–Zur Ressourcenverteilung in prähistorischen Gesellschaften / Rich and Poor–Competing for resources in prehistoric societies). 8. Mitteldeutscher Archäologentag vom 22. bis 24. Oktober 2015 in Halle (Saale). Tagungen des Landesmuseums für Vorgeschichte Halle 14. Halle (Saale) 2016, 219–242.
Dani, J., Köhler, K., Kulcsár, G., Major, I., Melis, E., Patay, R., Szabó, G., Hajdu, T., Futó, I., Huszánk, R., Kiss, V.: Case studies on the radiocarbon dating of Bronze Age cremation burials in Hungary. In: Palincas, N., Ponta, C. (eds): Bridging Science and Heritage in the Balkans: Studies in archaeometry, cultural heritage restoration and conservation. Proceedings of the Fifth Balkan Symposium of Archaeometry 2016, Sinaia, Romania. Oxford, Archaeopress 2019, 29–37.
Dani, J., P. Fischl, K., Kulcsár, G., Szeverényi, V., Kiss, V.: Dividing space, dividing society: fortified settlements in the Carpathian Basin (c. 2300–1500 BC). In: Meller, H., Friedrich, S., Küßner, M, Stäuble, H., Risch, R. (Hrsg.): Siedlungsarchäologie des Endneolithikums und der frühen Bronzezezeit – Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Settlement Archaeology. 11. Mitteldeutscher Archäologentag vom 18. bis 20. Oktober 2018 in Halle (Saale) – 11th Archaeological Conference of Central Germany October 18–20, 2018 in Halle (Saale). Tagungen des Landesmuseums für Vorgeschichte Halle 20. Halle (Saale) 2019, 851–868.
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