Folia archeologica 45.

Viola T. Dobosi - István Gatter: Paleolit hegyikristály eszközök és tájékozódó fluid zárvány vizsgálatuk

58 HARGITA ORAVECZ presence of pottery sherds suggests that the deceased was perhaps buried in a refuse pit (as in the case of grave B-3) or that the deceased was covered with household refuse following interment. The custom of burying the dead in a grave became more widespread during the Middle Neolithic,

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2 even though the deposition of the deceased m a refuse pit continued in this period.

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3 No other burial forms or grave constructions were noted at the Tiszalúc-Sarkad site.

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4 The deposition of the dead One of the most important elements of the burial rite is the deposition of the dead in a contracted position. This was the most consistently custom. The extent of contraction is more or less identical. The deceased were laid to rest on their left side, with the hands drawn up in front of the face. Deposition on the right side, a rather rare occurrence in the Upper Tisza region, could only be noted in two graves. The graves from the Tiszavasvár area offer a good overview of the different modes of deposition.

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5 Orientation The orientation of seven of the nine burials could be established. Three burials had a northeast to southwest orientation, and four had a southeast to northwest orientation. The latter graves lay in close proximity to each other. Orientation seems to have been independent of the sex of the deceased. A southeast to northwest orientation dominates on Middle Neolithic sites, although it is by no means exclusive.

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6 Grave goods Graves B-4, B-6 and B-l 1 could not be evaluated since they were disturbed, and it is uncertain whether they contained any grave goods. Middle Neolithic burials are characterized both by the presence and absence of grave goods.

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7 A part of them, such as pottery, stone tools and ochre were most likely deposited as part of the burial rite, as part of'caring for the deceased',

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8 while pendants, beads and bracelets can be regarded as part of the costume. No significant differences can be observed in the number and type of grave inventories in terms of differentiation according to sex, age and 'status', and in fact a 'uniformization' can be noted.

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9 The most common grave good, both at Tiszalúc and on other sites, was pottery. Often as many as two to six vessels were deposited beside the deceased. The form and decoration of these vessels is basically identical to the household pottery found 1

2 Kurucz 1994, 125-127. 1

8 Máthé 1978, 36. 1

4 Burial inside houses or into the house debris could not be unambiguously established at the TiszalökHajnalos site: Kurucz 1989, 97. 1

5 Kalicz-Makkay 1977, 78-81 ; Kurucz 1994, Figs 1-3. 1

6 Kutzián 1963, 410; Kalicz-Makkay 1977, Tabelle 3; Kurucz 1994, 127; Domboróczki 1997, 22; KaliczKoós 1997, 30-31. 1

7 Kalicz-Makkay 1997, Tabelle 1. 1

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Raczky 1989,'24. 1

9 There were no striking differences in the grave inventories of the burials, a feature that has also been noted on other ALP sites.