Deri Muzeum

Abstract In this paper we present new AMS radiocarbon dates from the Bronze Age cemetery of Tiszafüred-Majoroshalom excavated between 1961 and 1972. The cemetery provides crucial information on the cultural development and chronology of the Bronze Age Otomani-Füzesabony and the Tumulus cultures of Eastern Central Europe, in addition to the transition between the Middle and Late Bronze Age (approx. 1500 BC) in the Great Hungarian Plain.

Burial mounds, known as kurgans, are characteristic landscape monuments of the Central and Eastern European plains, including the Great Hungarian Plain. These formations are not only highly important from the archaeological and cultural heritage protection perspective. Their nature conservation value is also outstanding, as in many cases they are home to valuable flora and fauna elements. They are time capsules that hide invaluable information about the burial practice and the human remains placed in the grave. They are also unique in respect of environmental history. In the case of the kurgan, excavated at Zagolya-dűlő near Hajdúnánás, the phenomenon of cultural recycling could be identified. The original Yamnaya burial mound was re-used many times by later cultures. Imprints of the Baden inhabitation, and footprints of much later cultures of the Migration Period and the Árpád Ages were also detected. In this paper we summarize the results of the systematic stratigraphic and the related archaeological features’ soil analyses. In addition to the observations of the on-site soil examination (soil morphology), we also present the soil physical and chemical data obtained by high-resolution sampling and laboratory analyses. Data of the field survey and laboratory tests are supplemented by macro-archaeobotanical and phytolith analyses as well. By this interdisciplinary approach, we not only provide a detailed soil and sediment description of the kurgan, but also highlight the advantages of conjoint methodologies

ABSTRACTDuring the excavation carried out at the outskirts of Hajdúböszörmény (NE-Hungary) in 2011, the remains of a 12–13th century settlement were brought to light. Linguistic and historical research has previously presumed that one of the main centres of medieval Hungary’s Muslim (Ishmaelites) population is located in the northern-eastern part of the Great Hungarian Plain. At Hajdúböszörmény–Téglagyár ‘2’ archaeological site several household units were systematically sampled for archaeobotanical analysis. The recovered ceramics differ from the known ceramic production of the Árpád Age, whereas significant differences were detected in the zooarchaeological assemblage, too. The archaeobotanical record, representing 23 features, consists of 2679 items of charred macro-botanical remains that belong to 54 taxa. The record is predominated by the presence of cereals among which rye (Secale cereale L. subsp. cereale) and common barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) are the most frequent. Besides the dominance of cereals, pulses and vegetables, as well as gathered fruit remains were identified. By the comparison of results to other Árpád Age sites, we assume that the revealed ethno-archaeobotanical information identifies a population that used similar plant resources, but in a different way and strategy than the known Christian population of the Carpathian Basin.

The Great Hungarian Plain was a crossroads of cultural transformations that have shaped European prehistory. Here we analyse a 5,000-year transect of human genomes, sampled from petrous bones giving consistently excellent endogenous DNA yields, from 13 Hungarian Neolithic, Copper, Bronze and Iron Age burials including two to high (~22 × ) and seven to ~1 × coverage, to investigate the impact of these on Europe’s genetic landscape. These data suggest genomic shifts with the advent of the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, with interleaved periods of genome stability. The earliest Neolithic context genome shows a European hunter-gatherer genetic signature and a restricted ancestral population size, suggesting direct contact between cultures after the arrival of the first farmers into Europe. The latest, Iron Age, sample reveals an eastern genomic influence concordant with introduced Steppe burial rites. We observe transition towards lighter pigmentation and surprisingly, no Neolithic presence of lactase persistence.