Selmeczi László szerk.: Szolnok Megyei Múzeumi Évkönyv (1982-83)
Pál, Raczky: Origins of the Custom of Burying the Dead inside Houses in South-East Europe. A házba való temetkezés szokásának kezdetei Délkelet-Európában
ter view this culture represents the material heritage of a Neolithic population which, preserved certain Epipalaeolithic and Mesolithic traditions 17 . It is nevertheles noteworthy that numerous features which were formerly associated with the local Mesolithic indigenous population were also observed among Early Neolithic assemblages unearthed in the course of recent excavations (e.g. monumental stone sculpture at Gura Bacului 18 or semi-subterranean houses with the entrance facing the river at Pesterica 19 ). It has been suggested by J. K. Kozlowski and S. K. Kozlowski that this ambiguity which is also apparent from several other points can perhaps be traced to the fact that "some other cultures of early Neolithic (Starcevo, Cardial) may also have existed together with the latest epi- Tardigravettien (exemplified by the lower layers of Lepenski Vir and other sites of the Iron Gate area)" 20 . It would appear that this then was a population with a heterogenous material culture which preserved certain elements of an earlier, archaic way of life at the beginning of the SouthEast European Neolithic. The analyses of various elements of the material culture can nevertheless yield false results as regards absolute historical chronology, e.g. in the case of stone implements which are primarily determined by the way of life and not by chronological factors. This would imply that the material culture of the Lepenski Vir complex which is Neolithic in terms of chronology and Palaeolithic as regards its way of life, was a colourful amalgam of Neolithic and Palaeolithic elements which perhaps reflects the first contact between the two different ways of life. In spite of the controversial and often uncertain evaluation of this culture, the observations made at settlements of the Lepenski Vir culture around the Iron Gates are of prime importance as regards the custom of burying the dead within houses. The settlements at Lepenski Vir 21 , Vlasac 22 and Padina 23 were excavated almost completely. Apart from the cremation, inhumation, secondary and partial burials unearthed at these sites, special attention must be paid to the abovementioned houses and the burials associated with them. The successive layers of Lepenski Vir comprised houses which were trapezoidal in plan, with a hearth in the middle, and which yielded several unique sculptures carved from stone. In a number of houses burials were found near the hearth: the deceased were laid on their back in an extended position. Graves were often also unearthed below the floor of these houses; these were mostly infant burials 24 . The excavator emphasized that these burials should definitely be associated with settlement features. It has been suggested on the basis of the stone sculptures found within the houses, the hearths lined with limestone blocks and the floor which was plastered with thin red blocks of sandstones that these structures were not simply dwelling huts, but perhaps also functioned as shrines or sanctuaries 25 . The bone samples from these "houses" were analysed by Sándor Bökönyi, who concluded that they were deposited in a definite anatomical order, and can thus probably be regarded as the remains of a special sacrificial rite 26 . This phenomenon also underlines the special nature of the houses excavated at Lepenski Vir ; their significance also increases if the graves unearthed in them are regarded as an integral part of these houses. Viewed in this context, the burials found on and below the floor can be regarded as "burials within houses". The complexity of the burial cults is also accentuated by a grave found in a shallow pit which was dug into the floor of house 21 in layer Lepenski Vir I.e. The skull of an auroch was found beside the right shoulder, and a human skull without the lower jaw beside the left shoulder of the skeleton which was deposited in an extended position 27 . This grave will be discussed at greater length since the conclusions which can be drawn from it support our conjectures. It would appear that there was no special significance in whether the burial was on or below the floor of the house, since the grave in question was between the two. The skulls and horns of aurochs also found in other graves definitely prove that it was customary to place funerary gifts into the grave. Finally, the human skull which was also deposited in this grave perhaps indicates the practice of some sort of skull cult, but it can equally well be regarded as a partial burial which also occurred fairly frequently at Lepenski Vir. Several graves were unearthed on and below the floor of trapezoidal houses at the Vlasac settlement of the Lepenski Vir culture. The excavators emphasized the connection between the graves, the house and the hearth 28 . The excavations conducted at the Padina settlement, another site of this cultural complex yielded further evidence regarding burials on and below the floor of houses 29 . From the analysis of the graves, B. Jovanovió concluded that the local Mesolithic population and the newcomers who brought with them a Neolithic way of life lived peacefully side by side 30 . As a result of the conclusions drawn from the burials of the Lepenski Vir culture 31 , should like to draw attention to the following points : 1. The graves on the floor of the houses definitely prove that after the burial these houses no longer functioned as dwellings. (It is, however, uncertain whether these houses were ever used as dwellings, or whether they were built especially for the burial.) 2. A specific burial rite can be interpreted as expressing the extension of the care and benevolence of a human group according to a certain system to the deceased 32 . A "certain burial rite" thus emphasizes that the deceased are still regarded as members of a "particular human group". A burial form is thus the symbol of the interdependence within a given human community. This train of thought implies that that the various burial rites coexisting on sites of the Lepenski Vir culture probably reflect different human communities and groups. The nature of these groups cannot yet be defined precisely, i.e. it is at present uncertain whether these groups should be interpreted as anthropological or ethnic units. It is nevertheless noteworthy that according to this interpretation these burial customs indicate the amalgamation of various "human groups" on the Lower Danube. This, in turn, denotes significant differences as compared to the uniform burial customs and thereby the uniform social ranking of the Körös culture. Burials associated with houses have led us to a new assesment of a burial unearthed at the Obre I site in Bosnia. The fragmentary skeleton covered with stones was found on a heavily burnt floor level of a house assigned to the Starcevo culture. Even though the connection between the burial and the floor level was strongly emphasized, attention was focused on the concomitant finds and the assemblage was evaluated as a "cult assemblage" and a religious sacrifice 33 . It is the opinion of the present author that the burial, the concomitant finds and the floor should be regarded as an integral whole and that the assemblage be interpreted as a special burial. That the burial was covered by a small heap of stones is not at all surprising since some sort of stone superstructure was also observed in the case of a few graves unearthed at Padina 34 . On the basis of the preliminary report of the Nea Nikomedeia settlement in Greek Macedonia, no definite conclusion can be drawn on whether the graves unearthed in the debris of Late Protosesklo houses were placed there intentionally or whether their position was chosen by chance 35 . On the other hand it has been definitely ascertained that, in a house in the Kefalovrysso settlement in Northern Thessaly, dating to the Protosesklo period, the skeleton lying in an extended position and covered by a few stones was deposited below the floor 36 . A similar burial, but with a probably different spiritual 6
