Folia archeologica 47.
Hargita Oravecz: Középső újkőkori temetkezések Tiszaföldváron
58 HARGITA ORAVECZ Age and gender Number of skeletons disturbed Without grave goods "Poor" or Average nr. of grave goods Relatively "rich" Male 19 - 11 % 1 - 0,6 % 10-5,9% 2-1,1 % 6 - 3,5 % Female 16-9,4% 1 - 0,6 % 6 - 3,5 % 5 - 2,9 % 4 - 2,5 % Adult 34 - 20,7 % 8 - 4,7 % 17- 10,6% 9 - 5,4 % Child 27-16% 6 - 3,5 % 9 - 5,4 % 4 - 2,3 % 8 - 4,7 % Gender and/or age determined 96 - 45 % 16-7% 42 - 20 % 11 - 5,2 % 27- 12% Gender and/or age not determined 115-68% 26-15,3% 44 - 26 % 23-13,6% 22-13 % Total 211 - 100 % 42 - 20 % 36 - 40 % 34-16 % 49 - 23 % Fig. 8. Distribution of Middle Neolithic burials in the Tisza region according to gender, age and abundance of grave goods 8. ábra Tisza-vidéki temetkezések eloszlása nem, életkor és mellékletgazdagság szerint The number of anthropological examined ALBC graves is 96. Of these, there are 27 children and 69 adults (19 men, 13 women and 34 persons of unknown gender). The age and gender of the rest 115 skeletons (55 %) can not be, or was not established (Fig. 7). We can deduce from the above data that only about half of the ALBC burials are suitable to study relations between age, gender and grave goods, that is, an analysis of social relations within the communities. (Fig. 8.) VI. Social relations Any social archaeological analyses should start from the hypothesis that the burial ceremony, the number, quality and distribution of grave finds reflect to some extent the social status, rank or richness of the deceased. In this respect the evaluation of Grave 1977/25 could not be fully realised. Due to disturbance of the grave, the burial could not be observed in its original state. The skeleton itself is deficient, we only know that it used to be the final resort of an adult person of unknown gender. On the remaining bones, no traces of painting could be observed. No special treatment can be supposed on the basis of the existing finds. It can be studied only on the basis of one find, a string of beads compiled of Spondylus and marble beads. These two materials were obtained via long distance trade. Marble is a valuable ornamental stone, arriving to the Tisza region probably from the direction of the Balkans. Its rare occurrence (known from 4 of 169 ALBC burials only) let us suppose that it was considered a rarity, to be obtained by few people 2 2 . Warm water marine shells occurring on the territory of the Alföld LBC were probably transported to the Carpathian Basin from the Aariatic or the Aegean sea. Its value was probably hidden in the beauty and rarity of these shells and their possession must have been considered as of certain status, occurring together with other finds in graves of adults (both male and female) and children which were more rich than the average 2 2 . 2 2 Such graves were observed at Füzesabony-Gubakút, Domboróczki 1997, 19-25; at MezőkeresztesCethalom, 15. Wolf-Simonyi 1995, 5-7; at Csongrád-Bokros, Hegedűs 1982-83 34 and at Zsáka-Vizesi farm Kalkz-Makkay 1977, Tabelle 1.
