Alba Regia. Annales Musei Stephani Regis. – Alba Regia. Az István Király Múzeum Évkönyve. 8.-9. 1967-1968 – Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei: C sorozat (1968)

Tanulmányok – Abhandlungen - Bándi Gábor: Remarks on the History of Research in the „Vueedol Problem”. – Megjegyzések a Vueedoli-kérdés kutatástörténetéhez. VIII–IX, 1967–68. p. 23–33.

REMARKS ON THE HISTORY OF RESEARCH IN THE "VUCEDOL PROBLEM" In the archaeological literature of the Aeneolithic (Copper Age) and Early Bronze Age of the Central Danubian Basin the research of the widely extended culture, described by the most various names in the papers of German, Austrian, Czech, Slovak, Yougoslav and Hungarian authors in the last four decades, has occupied and still holds a distinguished place.

1 The methods of treatment, theories of cultural circles, chronological experiments and ideas of the most divergent attitudes, published since 1920, are reflected in the history of research on this culture in each case.

2 The terms "Laibacher Moor pottery", "Slavonic culture", "Vucedol culture", "Vucedol-Laibach pottery", "Laibach-Vucedol group", "Szarvas-Vucedol-Zók group" "Vucedol-Zók culture", "Zók culture", and their contents, based on various methodical foundations, are causing much difficulty up to this day; they prevent research in summarizing the origins, the chronological situation and the history of this culture or people, connected by various links to a whole, according to uniform points of view and with an unequivocal terminology. In order to lay a foundation and to create a point of view for the research of the present and the future, its history must be surveyed; thus the reasons of this apparent chaos, the unsolved problems, the misunderstandings and, in the last resort, the chances of progress will come to light. Following the discovery of the finds near Laibach and the first publications, the origin of the material in question and its place in the framework of Central European Prehistory were dealt with in the 1920s at the first time

3

. In the works of O. Menghin,

4 C. Schuchardt,

5 1 We are going to survey the research in the various countries in course of the detailed analysis of the divergent theories on the culture. 2 The methodical summary of the various ideas and trends has been given by S. Dimitrievié, surveying almost the entire literature. S. DIMITRIEVIC: Opusc. Arch. 1 (1956) 5.; S. DIMITRIEVIC: Opusc. Arch. 5 (1961) 22. 3 K. DESCHMANN: Fürher durch das Krainische Landes-Muse um Rudolfinum in Laibach (Laibach 1888).; E. KRAMER: Das Laicacher Moor (Laibach 1903).; M. HOERNES - O. MENGHIN: Urgeschichte der bildenden Kunst in Europa (Wien 1925) 327.; G. KYRLE: Laibacher Keramik. Reallexikon der Vorgeschichte (EBERT) Fig. 10. XXX/E. •> O. MENGHIN: op. cit. 758. s С. SCHUCHARDT: Alteuropa (Berlin-Leipzig 1926) 153. A. Stocky,

6 J. S с h r a n i I

7 and G. W i 1 к е

8 the theories regarding the Laibach finds and the circle attached to them were propounded in a way typical of the research of that time. It is superfluous to go into the details of these views now, it will suffice to show their basic trend, as far as its impact may be felt in later research. So let us characterize these first treatments as papers giving rise to the theory of the northern origin of the culture.

9 It was in these first publications that the first name of the culture, "Laibacher Moors pottery", has been suggested.

10 The term has been adopted by Czech research too, as it noticed the relationship of Czech and Moravian material with the Laibach finds.

11 Before proceeding with our survey as to other trends in the research of the mentioned culture, we have to remember the views of G. W. Child e,

12 singular in the scientific literature of the 1930s in many respects, and also as regards our material. The author emphasized the strong southern connections of the Slavonian material in the surroundings of Laibach, looking for the origin of the culture in the Kyklads and Cyprus. He was the first to use the term "Slavonic pottery", applied by Yougoslav and Slovakian research up to this day.

13 At the same time with the hazy "northern theories", based on a few data, or somewhat later, the research of the Laibach-Slavonian culture has propounded new ideas. We may comprise them by the term of East Alpine theories}* The view that the Laibacher Moors finds are related to the fascine dwellings near the Mondsee, both в A STOCKY : Studie о őeském neolithu П. (Praha 1920) 22. ; A. STOCKY Pravëk zemë Ceské I. Vëk kamenny (Praha 1926) 152. 7 J. SCHRÁNIL: Die Vorgeshichte Böhmens und Mährens (Berlin 1928) 67. s G. WILKE: Vucedol. - Reallexikon der Vorgeschichte (EBERT) 1929. 223. » S. DIMITRIEVIC: Opusc. Arch. 1 (1956) 20. In his quoted work the author has classified the theories regarding origins. lf

> Cf. the material of notes 4—8. — The term is derived from the material of the so-called fascine dwellings near Laibach. " Cf. the material of notes 6 -7. — The oldest history of Czech and Moravian research has been summed up by B. Novotny. B. NOVOTNY: SA 3 (1955) 5. 12 G. W. CHILDE: The Danube in Prehistory (Oxford 1929) 212. i» Ibid. " S. DIMITRIEVIC: Opusc. Arch. 1 (1956) 21. 23