Innovation in Bronze Age archeology – without the past, there is no future 1.
Without the past, there is no future, and the richer is the past,
the more you can cling to the future.
Mihály Babits
The present archaeological research, thus the work of the ‘Momentum’ Mobility Research Group, is strongly related to the challenges of the future and scientific innovation. The most important of them is the integration of many innovative methods in the Bronze Age archaeological research. Besides the radiocarbon (14C) dating of collagen content in archaeological bone samples, the scientist working in collaboration with our research team at the Hertelendi Laboratory of Environmental Studies (HEKAL), Institute of Nuclear Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA ATOMKI), Debrecen, are now also applying cremated bone bioapatite dating. The method was tested by samples from graves, in which various, well-preserved materials (unburnt animal bones, charcoal or plant seeds) could be analyzed. We were thus able to compare the calendar age of cremated bones with the absolute dates already obtained from other material samples. Due to the successful adaptation of the bioapatite dating, it became possible to determine the age of human remains from the widespread Bronze Age cremation burials in the Carpathian Basin as well. Our results have been published in the Radiocarbon journal and in the volume of the Fifth Balkan Symposium of Archaeometry 2016 (Major et al. 2018; Dani et al. in press).
As bioapatite dating is performed only in a few radiocarbon laboratories throughout Europe, the adaptation of the method enhances the competitiveness of the MTA ATOMKI laboratory at Debrecen as well. For more information, see our previous entry (in Hungarian).
Illustration: The Fifth Balkan Symposium of Archaeometry 2016
Irodalom
Dani, J., Kulcsár G., Major, I., Melis, E., Patay, R., Szabó, G., Váczi, G., Kiss, V.: Case studies for the dating of Bronze Age cremation burials from Hungary. In: Proceedings of the Fifth Balkan Symposium of Archaeometry 2016. Sinaia in prep.
I. Major, J. Dani, V. Kiss, E. Melis, R. Patay, G. Szabó, K. Hubay, I. Futó, R. Huszánk, M. Molnár: Adoption and evaluation of a sample pre-treatment protocol for radiocarbon dating of cremated bones at HEKAL. Radiocarbon 61, 2018, 159–171.
