A Debreceni Déri Múzeum Évkönyve 1981 (Debrecen, 1983)

Természettudomány - Szathmáry László: The Skeletal History of the Neolithic in the Carpathian Basin

Table 1 The chronologic distribution of he Neolithic skeletal finds of the Carpathian Basin Phase Culture/Group Date (B. C; Number of sites Number of individuals Early Körös-Starcevo-Cris AVK -* DVK 4000—3500 3700—3200 3600—3000 13 2 2 37 6 20 Middle Groups of Linear Pottery Sopot-Bicske Zseliz 3200—2800 ^800—2700 8000—2700 6 1 1 10 10 1 8 6 1 Late Tisza Lengyel Vinca-Plocnik 2800—2500 :í700—2500 2700—2500 6 1 1 10 10 1 41 120 2 Together '000—2500 46 243 Results 1. Preneolithic background The only possibility to reconstruct the Preneolithic population of the Carpathian Basin is to consider the skeleton finds of the surrounding areas. Two groups of finds serve this aim. The first group consists of the Upper Palaeolithic finds at the north-northwestern border line: Brno (Makowsky, 1890, 1892, Matiegka, 1929, Jelinek, Pelisek, Valoch, 1959), Dolni Vestonice (Absolon, 1938, Jelinek, 1953, 1954, Maly, 1939, Movant, 1938) Mladec (Szombathy, 1900, 1925), Pavlov (Vlcek, 1961a, 1961b), Pfedmosti (Matiegka, 1934, 1938). Their most characteristic criterion is Combe Capelle (Protomediterranean) and Pfedmosti features, which can also be identified in Stare Mesto find (Jelinek, 1956) and in the Neolithic of the northern part of the Carpathian Basin, as well. The Mesolithic Stare Mesto find (Jelinek, 1956) slightly differs from them in so far as this more gracile and more evolved. It has possibly southern origin or may have been traceable to genetic antecedents of Dolni Vestonice III characteristics. The Nagysáp skull (Luschan, 1873, 1887, Rútot, 1910, Török, 1893) also calls attention to possible appearance of other morphological types in the Carpatian Basin. The other group is composed of the finds of Derdap (Iron Gate) on the Danube (Boroneant, 1970, 1973, Lengyel, 1978, Nemeskéri, 1973, 1978, Nemeskéri, Lengyel, 1978, Nemeskéri, Szathmáry, 1978a, 1978b, 1978c, 1978d, 1978e, 1978f, Zivanovic, 1975). These are basically of Cro-Magnon character. Moreover, it can be established that a characteristic lokal form of the Cro-Magnon type developped in this area. The skeletons offer a sketch of extension, speed and forms of migrations towards the Carpathian Basin from south to north, between the Upper Palaeolithic and the Neolithic. These migrations seem, in the light of the finds, much more significant than the ones at the northern border line of the Carpathian Basin. Increasingly progressive new populations appeared from the Balkans displacing the survivors of the autochthonous Upper Palaeolithic populations whose archaity can be compared with that of the Mesolithic populations in the Ukraine (Yakimov, 1962, Gohman, 1966, Konduktorova, 1957, 1968, 1973) as soon as the Mesolithic. Thus it can be assumed that the population living north of the Carpathian Basin at the end of the Mesolithic differed in morphological character from the population living to the south because they were developing on different bases. 52