A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Studia Archaeologica 9. (Szeged, 2003)

MÁRK László: A szarmata népesség temetkezési rítusairól, vegyészszemmel

A BURIAL RITE OF SARMATIAN POPULATION, IN MIRROR OF THE CHEMISTRY László MÁRK It is a well-known and unfortunate fact of Hungarian archaeological research that osteological remains from the Sarmatian period tend to be very poorly preserved. Archaeologists have yet to find a plausible explanation for this phenomenon. Bone chemistry analyses of materials from this period allow us to model the processes that lead to the degradation of bone samples in Sarmatian sites. Such a model can, in turn, eventually be used to understand the differential composition of bone samples in different Sarmatian assemblages throughout the region. Based upon the samples analyzed here, which derive from a cemetery near the village of Madaras, we are able to reach some preliminary conclusions regarding the nature of postdepositional processes relating to bone decay in this, albeit restricted, microregion. Our study focused on the following: 1) the origin of the observed unknown organic material on the surface of the analysed osteological samples and 2) the processes that led to their quick corrosion. Our aim is to present data on the complete chemical analysis of the samples collected. We also attempt to find a plausible explanation based on our data for the cause of accelerated degradation of the bones samples found. The study employed different qualitative and quantitative analytical measurements (PIXE, AAS, DTG, XRD) and we argue that some of the conservation and excavation techniques commonly employed in Hungary drastically need to be refined (LENGYEL 1968). We analysed the macro (carbonates, Ca, P, Na, Mg and the organic components) and trance elements (Ba, Sr, Fe, Cu, Zn, etc.) of the samples (Fig 2-3) and examined the photos of them (Fig 1). Our measurements demonstrate the horrible impact of acid on the osteological samples. I suggest this resulted not from the postdepositional environment of the bones, but from the body having been wrapped in tanned leather during burial. Translated by the author Mark Laszlo Pécsi Tudományegyetem Altalános Orvostudományi Kar Biokémiai és Orvosi Kémiai Intézet 7624 Pécs, Szigeti u. 12. E-mail: laszlo.mark@aok.pte.hu