Tálas László szerk.: The late neolithic of the Tisza region (1987)
The Late Neolithic of the Tisza region: A survey of recent archaeological research (N. Kalicz and P. Raczky)
A SURVEY OF RECENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH modities in this corner of the world were animals that could be driven on foot (SHERRATT 1982, 13-26), or meat that had been preserved by some technique. The use of pits for smoking fish is attested in the Tisza culture (KOREK 1972, 252). Agriculture, stockb reed ing, hunting and fishing was complemented by the gathering of mollusc shells, and wild fruits and berries. The Late Neolithic populations of the Great Hungarian Plain probably devoted most of their time to subsistence activities; and the manufacture of various artefacts, tools and implements of everyday life must have also taken up quite a lot of their time. The construction of houses and defence works, on the other hand, involved a considerable expenditure of labour and a certain measure of cooperation. Late Neolithic subsistence patterns show considerably more complexity than does the economy of preceding periods. Beside this perceptible complexity, the gradual intensification of production can also be observed. The emergence of tells and tell-like settlements and, concomitantly, a tell-based economy, reflects the Balkanic context of the Late Neolithic of the Tisza region since this economic system and settlement form had no local antecedent in the Great Hungarian Plain, and disappeared without a trace after a brief flourishing (MAKKAY 1982, 104-163). However, the presently available archaeological evidence calls for caution when attempting to link this development directly to parallel phenomena in the Ancient Near East (KALICZ 1985, 127-138), especially when interpreting the emergence of tells as foreshadowing an urban development comparable to the Mesopotamian one (SIKLÓDI 1986,1-3). A broadly similar cultural development, but taking different evolutionary pathways can at the most be posited in this poliphyletic cultural development; however, the Late Neolithic development in the Tisza region was by and large rooted in local cultural traditions, which essentially defined the patterns and tendency of development, in which the geographic, climatic and ecologic environment played a decisive role. CHRONOLOGY The chronology of the Late Neolithic cultures and their relations to other culture provinces can be set within the framework of cultural contacts outlined in a previous section. The internal development of the Tisza culture shows regional differences in the areas to the north and to the south of the Körös rivers. This regional division roughly corresponds to the distribution of tells. South of the Körös rivers the first phase of the Tisza culture is represented by the lowermost levels of the tells, formerly defined as late Szakáihát or Szakáihát-Tisza transition. The pottery still shows strong Szakáihát traditions and a new decorative technique makes its appearance: the biNecked amphora concealing a hoard of prestige items found in 1908. Coka—Kremenjak (Csóka-Kremenyák). H: 28.5 cm [13] tumen coating. The continuous spiral patterns are gradually replaced by meandric and geometric patterns set into panels dividing the vessel surface. The appearance of black painting in wide bands is also a characteristic feature of this period. The characteristic M motif, a heritage from the Szakáihát period, still dominates most human face vessels. The relative chronology of this period is defined by vessels imported from the Bükk, Zseliz and Esztár groups, and the occurrence of bitumencoated pottery in Zseliz, Bükk and Szilmeg contexts. The available evidence suggests that south of the Körös valley the Tisza I period had begun while the Szakáihát, Esztár, Szilmeg and Bükk groups were still flourishing in the north. In Transdanubia, this period corresponds to the Zseliz (and perhaps the late Notenkopf) period, and to the Bicske I phase of the Sopot culture (e.g. the early Sopot phase at Becsehely). The occurrence of a Tisza I vessel (formerly defined as Szakáihát) at Vinca, in a level correlated with the end of Vinca B,, clearly indicates the relative chronological position of the Tisza I period. The vessel forms and ornamental patterns of the Tisza I period are often encountered in phases II and III of the Bucovat group in the Banat, generally equated with Vinca B 2 . In Transylvania the Tordos and Lumea Nouá groups still flourished at this time, while the Petresti and Iclod development had already begun. South of the Körös rivers, the settlement patterns and sub25
