Alba Regia. Annales Musei Stephani Regis. – Alba Regia. A Szent István Király Múzeum Évkönyve. 34. 2004 – Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei: C sorozat (2005)

Tanulmányok – Abhandlungen - Zalai-Gaál, István: New evidence for the Cattle cult in the Neolithic of Central Europe. XXXIV. p. 7–40. T. I–XVII.

horns were deposited not only under house floors, but also on the floor itself (Raczky 1990, 89-90, Abb. 111). The animal bone sample collected during earlier campaigns at Tápé-Lebő attest to the prominence of bovines in the community's life. The fauna was dominated by cattle, accounting for about one-half of the mammals (44 per cent) and for 80 per cent of the domestic species, while aurochs was the most frequent game animal (Bökönyi 1957, 63, 72). One of the oval pits in the house uncovered in Level 17 of this tell settlement during the new excavations conducted by Ferenc Horváth contained a horn which, judging from the published photograph, came from an aurochs ((Horváth 1989, 99, Fig. 3). Several finds from House 4 (described as a „sanctuary") at Vésztő-Mágor, a tell settlement of the Tisza culture, reflect the prominence of the cattle cult at this site. Plastered on the floor was a clay ring with two small cups and two horns modelled from clay on its rim, which had probably been set opposite each other (the larger fragment with one of the horns lay in the building's eastern half) (Hegedüs-Makkay 1990, 116, Abb. 142, with a reconstruction; Makkay 2004, 71, Fig. 25). Although the clay ring was interpreted as an early form of a kernos-like object, its exact function and use during rituals remain elusive (Hegedüs-Makkay 1990, 116). A 26 cm long massive, solid object with oval base and two short horns on the upper part sculpted from clay, most likely symbolising horns of consecration, had probably been set on the floor (Plate IX, Fig. 14).' The perhaps most remarkable Late Neolithic finds and find assemblages were uncovered at the HerpályBerettyóújfalu tell settlement of the Herpály culture. It was clear from the faunal material brought to light during earlier campaigns that the subsistence of the settlement's occupants was to a great extent based on aurochs hunting. Extraordinarily large numbers of aurochs bones were found, especially in the levels between Layers С and D; the bones from this over 50 cm thick level came almost exclusively from aurochs, reflecting the primacy of hunting (Korek-Patay 1956, 39). Sándor Bökönyi's evaluation of the forty thousand animal bones from later campaigns revealed that cattle dominated among domestic species and aurochs among game animals (Kalicz-Raczky 1987a, 122). The occupants deposited aurochs skulls with horncores under the house floors, often arranged into regular rows (Plate VIII, Fig. 13), which can probably be regarded as foundation deposits (Kalicz-Raczky 1984, 135, Figs 25-27; 1986, 102, Abb. 27). A sacrificial pit uncovered at this site contained pottery, grinding stones and aurochs horns (Kalicz-Raczky 1987a, 121). The bull „Das Kulthorn Nr. 15 braucht keinen Kommentar. Die Existenz von Kulthörnern in der Theiß-Kultur ist gut belegt... Es ist nicht erforderlich, hier die balkanischen und ägäischen, zeitgenössischen oder späteren Parallelen aufzuzählen. Es ist offensichtlich, daß das Kulthorn aus Ton im kultischen Leben der Theiß-Kultur eine wichtige Rolle spielte" (Hegedüs-Makkay 1990, 111 and 115, Abb. 145). heads sculpted from clay plastered onto house walls and the bull horns adorning the corners of ovens, to which good analogies can be quoted from the Late Neolithic of the Balkans, can probably be associated with various rituals and beliefs, which illustrate the significance of the bull cult in the community's life (Kalicz-Raczky 1981, 520; 1987a, 121, Figs 25-26). The prominence of the cattle cult is also reflected by the bull horns and bucrania decorating the pottery from Herpály (Kalicz-Raczky 1987a, 23). A vessel resembling the ones from Herpály is known from Körösújfalu-Jákóhalom (MRT 1982, Pl. 13. 9). The finds indicating the practice of the cattle cult at Herpály include bull heads sculpted from clay set on the inner and outer surface of house walls and the foundation deposits under house floors or, more rarely, under the threshold. The finds from Oradea-Salca (Nagyvárad, Romania), assigned to the Salca-Herpály culture, include a number of animal heads depicted with horns. Most of these are appliqué ornaments, which „probably portray bulls", whose best analogies can be cited from Herpály (Luca 2001, 130, Abb. 9. 2-4, Abb. 13. 2, Abb. 16. 4). The walls of the timber-framed house uncovered in the lowermost level of Phase С of the tell settlement at Hódmezővásárhely-Gorzsa were decorated with painted meander patterns and 15-20 cm large animal heads sculpted from clay (Horváth 1982, 207). Miniature horns, probably part of bull figurines, occurred among the small finds (Horváth 1998, 289-290, Pl. 2. 2-3, Pl. 2. 7), and a stylised clay bull head, which had probably been a gable ornament set above the entrance, lay among the debris in House 2 (Horváth 1990, 48-49). A fragment of what were probably horns of consecration came to light during the earlier campaigns at Gorzsa (Gazdapusztai 1957, 211212, Fig. 2) together with a broken zoomorphic figurine depicting a pig or cattle (Gazdapusztai 1963, 34, Pl. 4. 19). Many aurochs and cattle horns were found during the new excavations at the site (unfortunately, the analysis and evaluation of the animal bones is still in progress). According to Ferenc Horváth, the two or three complete or almost complete aurochs trophies (brain skull with the horn-cores) placed on the wooden subframe (ploshchadka) under the floor in Room 4 of House 2 (Trench VII, Level 12) were obviously foundation deposits. Cattle and aurochs horns and trophies were also recovered from sacrificial pits.

6 The deep bowl with a schematic bovine figurine in its interior from Deszk-Ordos is a unique find (Horváth 1998, 292, Pl. 4. 1, Pl. 5. 1-5).

7 In his discussion of the Polgár-Csőszhalom settlement, Pál Raczky argued that this Late Neolithic settlement cannot be assigned to any one cultural complex, but rather represents a unique blend of the cultures flourishing durFerenc Horváth's kind personal communication. Analogies from later periods include the Early Bronze Age bowl from Vounas in Cyprus decorated with a scene depicting a sanctuary and the participants of the ceremony, human and bull figures (Diakos 1932, Pis 70-71). 12