Using Daub, Bone, and Charcoal Samples to Establish the Chronology of Neolithic Tell Formation, and Establish Settlement Patterns, in the Körös Region, Hungary
Loading...
Date
2012-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
The archaeological record indicates that a major transition was taking place from the Late Neolithic to the Early Copper Age periods (6500 years ago) on the Great Hungarian Plain. People abandoned the nucleated tell sites characteristic of the Late Neolithic and started to occupy smaller flat sites. Pottery style, trade patterns, burial customs, and subsistence strategies underwent changes during this period in prehistory. Investigations at two Neolithic tells, Vésztő-Mágor and Szeghalom-Kovácshalom, at Neolithic flat sites around Szeghalom-Kovácshalom, and at several small Early Copper Age sites by the Körös Regional Archaeological Project team provided data that was used to create a model that attempts to explain why societies on the Great Hungarian Plain went through this major social and economic transition. Test excavations of parts of two large Late Neolithic structures in flat sites near the Szeghalom-Kovácshalom tell (SzK 50) were conducted in spring, 2011. These structures and several intrusive features were tentatively assigned to the Late Neolithic period (5000 - 4500 cal. BC) based on Tisza culture ceramic styles. Organic materials, including bone and charcoal, were also collected and radiocarbon dated. These Neolithic structures were built out of mud and other organic materials, such as wood and straw. This building material is called daub. Surface collections and geophysical studies indicate that these structures often burned down at the studied settlement, preserving the daub. The aim of this preliminary study was to radiocarbon date the organic material inside the daub pieces, in order to produce a more accurate chronology of the structures and features at the flat sites. The results showed that the daub did not yield radiocarbon dates that accurately dated to the life of the structures. However, radiocarbon dates from other organic material were used to create a chronology of the structures at both blocks excavated during the 2011 KRAP season.
Description
Keywords
Archaeology, Hungary, Late Neolithic, Radiocarbon dating