Madaras László – Tálas László – Szabó László szerk.: Tisicum - A Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok Megyei Múzeumok Évkönyve 9. (1996)

Róbert Kertész: A New Site of the Northern Hungarian Plain Mesolithic Industry in the Jászság Area (Jászberény IV) (Az észak-alföldi mezolit ipar újabb lelőhelye a Jászságban — Jászberény IV)

RÓBERT KERTÉSZ A NEW SITE OF THE NORTHERN HUNGÁRIÁN PLAIN MESOLITHIC INDUSTRY IN THE JÁSZSÁG AREA (JÁSZBERÉNY IV)

1 Abstract — Systematic archeological researches in the Jászság region add from year to year considerable new information to our knowledge on the Mesolithic of the Great Hungárián Plain. The site Jászberény IV, a newiy discovered Mesolithic locality in the Jászság, partly confirms our notion of the Mesolithic of the northern part of the Great Hungárián Plain, which has been developed during the last few years, partly gives a new contribution to it. The Northern Hungárián Plain Mesolithic Industry (NHPM Industry), established on the basis of our knowledge on the Jászság Mesolithic complex, comprises the site Jászberény IV since both the topography, settlement conditions and technomorphological features of the industry of the site, as well as the rangé and use of lithic raw materials in the site fit fairly well intő the domain of the above-mentioned Mesolithic industry. The site Jászberény IV is situated in the End Pleistocene— Early Holocene subsidence basin of the Jászság on a low-level bank of the Ancient Zagyva. The settlement features of the Mesolithic campsite are concentrated within a spot of 15 m's diameter. Though there are only a few characteristic finds among the lithic pieces found as sporadic surface finds in the site, there is one type in the assemblage, namely lamelle étroite á bord abattu, tronquée, which earlier was unknown from the Mesolithic assemblages of the microregion. On the basis of typotechnological data available so far for us we may put the industry of the site intő the Middle Mesolithic, the Boreal period. As regards chronological connections the industry of the site Jászberény IV belongs to the Jászberény phase of the NHPM Industry. The presence of sites belonging to the NHPM Industry cannot be restricted to the northern part of the Great Hungárián Plain. Considering the cultural connections of the industry as well as its raw matériái use structure and alsó on the basis of paleoecological data we think highly possible that the sites of this industry may be present not only in those microregions of the northern part of the Great Hungárián Plain the conditions of which are similar to those of the Jászság but alsó at several places in the Northern Mountain Rangé, especially near lithic raw matériái provenances and within river valleys of N—S direction. Introduction Authentic finds of the Middle and Laté Phases of the Mesolithic had been absent from the territory of Hungary until recently. During the last few years the study of the Mesolithic period had an upswing in the NW part of the Great Hungárián Plain, in the area called Jászság (Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County) (Fig. 1). New results furnished a convincing evidence of the cause of the hiatus, that is the hiatus between the Upper Paleolithic and Early Neolithic does not mean a discontinuity in settlement history but it is due to insufficiencies in earlier researches. During the field surveys made within the region mentioned above several Mesolithic settlements were identified on the basis of surface finds.

2 Later at several sites Mesolithic culture lay~ ers were verified by excavations as well.

3 This Mesolithic complex which was gradually taking This study was supported by a grant from OTKA (National Sclentific Research Fund), the 'Support for Hungárián Science' Fund of the Hungárián National Bank, and the 'For Studies on the Prehistoric Archaeology of the Jászság' Foundation (MOL Ltd., Alföld Project, Tisza Club, OTP — Management of the Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County National Savings Bank —, Topán Ltd., Jászberény Municipality, Lehel-Elektrolux Freezing Devices Factory Ltd., PROFEXT Ltd., Foundation 'For the Jászság', Jász-Tel Ltd., Csiki Ltd.). Kertész 1991; 1993; 1994; 1995 27