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L i p t á к classified the deceised as rulers, no artifactual evidence supported this theory. For example no sabretache, decorated with silver plate or belt, decorated with metal mounts were found in these burials. Actually the Öttevény grave did not even contain bow and arrows. Second argument : it is questionable to label a cemetery and then classify all the burials into the same social stratum to which the cemetery was assigned. This was the case with the "middle stata" cemeteries of Székesfehérvár and Eger — Szépasszony völgy. Some of their graves did not contain any grave goods at all. Third argument: it seems peculiar that the presence of common people could be demonstrated exclusively in cemeteries which were started in the last third of the 10th century A. D. In light of the above arguments it is hard to believe that social stratification of the conquering groups may be established on the basis of racial differences using L i p t á к' s criteria. It may be reasonably hypothesized however, that (as supported by sporadic craniological data) some kind of a social, economic or political subordination may have existed between the Hungarians, the other conquering groups and the local populations( 15 ). It is similarly certain that each ethnic group involved in the conquest was socially stratified. It is hard however, to believe that this stratification necessarily coincided with racial differences within the same ethnic group. In any case, the taxonomic evaluation of skeletal remains from the richer and poorer burials which belong to the various (A, B, C, D) conquering groups may help to test the hypothesis concerning the involvement of racial elements in social stratification. VII. MATERIAL FROM THE ÁRPÁD PERIOD 1. General characteristics A) It is well known that the beginning of the Árpád Period is defined by the coronation of the first king of the Árpád Dynasty. This king, Saint Stephen (István) was crowned in 1000 A. D. The end of the period is marked by the death of the last king of this dynasty in 1301 A. D., King Andrew (András/Endre) III. Both from an archaeo(15) There are two relevant references to this problem. The 10th century A. D. cemetery at Kál could be preserved in 75 percent and included 68 graves. The grave of the highest ranking man (marked by seven arrows) was located in the central area of the cemetery, and the taxonomic characteristics of this person are clearly different from the rest of the community. With the exception of the remains of a child and a woman no other Euro-mongoloid individuals were identified, and these three may have belonged to the same family (Éry 1970b). A similar pattern occurred in the 10th century A. D. Tengelic cemetery 85 percent of which could be preserved. A male burial of high status was marked by six arrows, and the Turanoid taxonomic character of the deceised is considerably different from the entirely Europoid type of the rest of the community (Éry 1971). Both of these communities joined the Conquering Hungarians and the taxonomic difference between them and their leaders is probably a symptom of ethnic differences. Both of these men with high status represented types which are attributed to the people of the seven Hungarian tribes and thus are common in the people of group А, В and D. logical and a historical point of view however, the beginning of the Árpád Period is also routinely dated to 972 A. D. This is the year when Saint Stephen's father Grand Duke Géza rose to power, seizing it from the tribesmen. In addition, he converted to Christianity and these events resulted in significant changes in the life of the Hungarian population. These changes are also evident in the archaeological material and have an indirect impact on the physical anthropological (craniological) data as well. It was at this time that cemeteries characteristic of the period of the Hungarian Conquest seem to have stopped being used and cemeteries of a new type begin. The reason for these changes is usually explained in historical research by the internal policies of Grand Duke Géza. It is hypothesized that the population was dispersed and translocated respectively within the country as a result of large scale resettling policies. It is also a generally accepted practice in the physical anthropology of this historical time that an early and a late phase are distinguished within the Árpád Period. The early phase is dated to between about the 980's A. D. to approximately the end of the 11th century A. D. when the late phase begins. On the basis of burial rites the end of the late phase however, may be defined by the beginning of the Turkish rule in Hungary i. e. the middle of the 16th century A. D. From an archaeological point of view the Early Árpád Period is characterized by the coexistence of pagan and Christian mortuary rites as well as by the beginning of the concentration of burials around churches. The late phase is characterized by purely Christian rites and the exclusive role of churches as focal points of the graveyards. The time interval between 980 to 1300 A. D. is therefore theoretical but an acceptable conventional definition for research purposes. The use of only craniological material from the early phase in this study is due to a technical limitation. The main reason is the actual lack of a sufficient number of skeletons from the late phase of the Árpád Period. B) The distribution patterns of the 18 Árpád Period samples within the clusters seem to reflect the relatively high degree of homogeneity within the population. Aside from a few exceptions found in subcluster 2/a (22.3%) all the other series (77.7%) were classified into cluster 1 (including the Békés — Povád sample on the basis of its general characteristics). The proportion of significant similarities within the material of this period is 11.1 percent which is twice as much as the value characteristic for the Avar Period. The relative homogeneity of the material on the other hand, does not guarantee that the origins of Árpád Period series are more easily detectable than those of the Avar Period series. Namely, 11 of the 18 samples belong to subcluster 1/a in which craniological characteristics tend to blurr ethnic differences. Local varieties included in this subcluster are also impossible to identify due to the lack of early analogies. This means that it is impossible to tell where the Árpád Period series of this subcluster were formed and whether analogies within subcluster 1/a are the result of actual relationships or only of formal similarities. 112
