Gecse Annabella et al. (szerk.): Tisicum - A Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok Megyei Múzeumok Évkönyve 18. (Szolnok, 2009)
Régészet - Csányi Marietta–Raczky Pál–Tárnoki Judit: Előzetes jelentés a rézkori bodrogkeresztúri kultúra Rákóczifalva–Bagi-földön feltárt temetőjéről
Régészet MARIETTA CSÁNYI - PÁL RACZKY - JUDIT TÁRNOKI Preliminary report on the cemetery of the Bodrogkeresztúr culture excavated at Rákóczifalva—Bagi-föld The replacement of a dam was carried out in the outskirts of Rákóczifalva, a village in central Hungary, within the framework of the Vásárhelyi Project, in order to increase the floodplain area along the Tisza river in the vicinity of the so-called Bivaly lake. During 2005-2007, archaeological excavations took place within the designated new floodplain area where earth extraction pits would be opened along the future dam. Preventive archaeological work was carried out in cooperation between the Damjanich János Museum (Szolnok) and the Institute of Archaeological Sciences of the Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest). The planned earthworks followed the primary banks of the Tisza river, the excavated area totaled 35 hectares. (Figure 1, 2.) An undisturbed Copper Age cemetery, attributed to the Bodrogkeresztúr culture, came to light during the course of this operation. The area covered by the graves was approximately 1,600 m2. A surrounding broad zone contained no archaeological finds, thereby indicating that the entire cemetery was excavated. This fact, important from the viewpoint of historical evaluation, is complemented by the excavation of an entire settlement on the west bank of the river that once belonged to the cemetery. Since the restoration of ceramic finds from both the settlement and the cemetery is still underway, this preliminary report will be limited to the evaluation of the cemetery’s plan, drawing conclusions on the basis of burial rite and the spatial distribution of grave goods available for study. The cemetery of 79 graves excavated at Rákóczifalva is comparable to coeval cemeteries in the area. Similarities include the systematic spatial patterning of graves, the burial rite, as well as the repertoire of grave goods. One of the 79 graves may be considered symbolic, while three contained no skeletons. In addition, three double burials were discovered. Therefore the number of skeletons recovered is 78. The spatial patterning of burials The cemetery’s plan shows a system of burial groups that have been arranged into relatively regular rows. The main extension of the cemetery is west to east. Graves are largely oriented south-east to north-west, while the row of burials follows a north-east to south-west trend. This patterning is indicative of an incredibly regular, almost gridlike spatial arrangement. The rows outline two groups within the cemetery. A significantly larger cluster of 64 graves is located in the western section of the cemetery, forming a more-or-less square-shaped block, resulting from the aforementioned geometrical pattern. A smaller group of only 11 graves shows a similar layout. The two groups are linked by four burials in a way that they form a single row with graves on the eastern edge of the larger cluster and the westernmost graves of the smaller cluster. (Figure 3.) A preliminary historical evaluation of the cemetery In many aspects, the 79 graves excavated at Rákóczifalva— Bagi föld are of special significance in reconstructing the history of the Bodrogkeresztúr culture. Firstly, the richness of metal finds among grave goods is worth mentioning. The other important point is that the 79 graves and 78 skeletons recovered may be considered a complete unit in terms of analysis. Even the bare results of physical anthropological analysis (34 women, 37 men and 4 children were identified, while one of the individuals could neither be sexed nor aged) offer conclusions to be drawn. (Figure 4.) The low proportion, i. e. 5% relative frequency of child burials at the Rákóczifalva cemetery does not represent the infant mortality ratio typical of prehistoric cemeteries. Paleodemographic data from the same period tend to indicate a 30-60% contribution by children during this period of Hungarian Prehistory. This in itself indicates that only selected members of the ancient community were buried in the cemetery, that is, the set of burials does not show the valid mortality profile of an entire prehistoric community. Similar conclusions were drawn by several scholars in relation to the Copper Age cemetery at Tiszapolgár—Basatanya. This may be taken as yet another indication of the possibility that all 87 cemeteries known from the Middle Copper Age of the Great Hungarian Plain represent only a segment of the population selected on the basis of narrowly defined criteria. Within the framework of this preliminary historical evaluation it may be said that, in general, the Rákóczifalva cemetery contained the remains of individuals who had been “distinguished members” of the community from at least a certain point of view. Accordingly, the relatively rich assemblage of metal grave goods could be interpreted as the material means of the symbolic expression of a certain elite. It is also likely that the population represented in Bodrogkeresztúr cemeteries known to date was defined by a dominant social hierarchy that overwrote boundaries of simple kinship. In essence, in addition to the system of “achieved status”, the concept of “ascribed status” became dominant. This development represents an incipient form of social complexity, the emergence of a step-like hierarchy. Naturally, the determining role of age and gender may be recognized in the burials and grave goods in the Rákóczifalva 33
