Achaeometrical Research in Hungary II., 1988

PROSPECTING and DATING - Ede HERTELENDI - Éva SVINGOR - Pál RACZKY - Ferenc HORVÁTH - István FUTÓ - László BARTOSIEWICZ - Mihály MOLNÁR: Radicarbon chronology of the Neolithic and time span of tell settlements in eastern Hungary based on calibrated radiocarbon dates

Ede HERTELENDl

1

, Éva SVINGOR

1

, Pál RACZKY

2

\ Ferenc HORVÁTH

2

, István FUTÓ

1

, László BARTOSIEWICZ

2

, Mihály MOLNÁR

4 RADIOCARBON CHRONOLOGY OF THE NEOLITHIC AND TIME SPAN OF TELL SETTLEMENTS IN EASTERN HUNGARY BASED ON CALIBRATED RADIOCARBON DATES Abstract: The chief objective of this paper is to improve our understanding of the Neolithic in Eastern Hungary using absolute chronological data. To accomplish this we calibrated new measurements as well as previously published dates. The up-to-date, standardized evaluation of more than 300 calibrated measurements showed temporal overlaps between archaeological cultures defined on the basis of ceramic styles. The increasing number of dates suggest that the Neolithic period began at the turn of the 6

th and 7

,h millennia ВС and lasted for ÇÇL ISOQyr in the present area of the Great Hungarian Plain (Alföld). The average time span of tell settlements is 285 years was obtained using radiocarbon dates of four major settlements in Eastern Hungary: Berettyóújfalu - Herpály, Hódmezővásárhely - Gorzsa-Cukortanya, Öcsöd - Kováshalom, Polgár - Csőszhalom. Keywords: archaeometry, Neolithic, Hungary, calibrated dates, radiocarbon chronology, cumulative probability Introduction Radiocarbon measurements for the Hungarian Neolithic led to the results, that the food-producing economies started 1500 yr earlier than previously assumed. The Alföld Linear Pottery (ALP) culture and the Tordos - Tärtäria complex were transposed to the turn of the 6 ' and 5

n millennia. As a result, the famous Tärtäria tablets evidently lost their value as general chronological indicators of the Neolithic of south-eastern Europe, especially in the Carpathian Basin (RENFREW 1966, 469-470; NEUSTUPNY 1968, 32-35; ZANOTTI 1983, 209-213; KALICZ 1985, 21-51.). Another surprising consequence of the calibrated radiocarbon chronology was that the earlier, diachronic series of Neolithic cultures was replaced by a system of temporally overlapping cultures (SZÉNÁSZKY 1983, 243-246; SHERRATT 1985, 1; PETRASCH 1991, 65-71; GLÄSER 1991, 53-64; HORVÁTH 1991, 259-273; HERTELENDl and HORVÁTH 1992, 859-866.). Thus, the previous historical concept had to be re-evaluated and the interrelations among Neolithic cultures revised. Establishment of a new Neolithic chronology became inevitable. The first efforts in this direction can be found in partial studies from the 1980s (BOGNÁRKUTZIÁN 1985, 293-298; BOGNÁR-KUTZIÁN and CSONGOR 1987, 131-140.). However, a comprehensive, standardized system still must be created for the Neolithic as a whole. Two noteworthy international summaries (BREUNIG 1987, 316p; EHRICH 1992, 1113p.) represent only tangentially the absolute chronology of the Hungarian Neolithic. In addition, these publications mirror the state of research during the mid-1980s. ' Institute of Nuclear Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, РОВ 51, H-4001 Debrecen, Hungary 2 Eötvös Loránd University, Department of Archaeology, РОВ 107, H-1364 Budapest, Hungary 3 Móra Ferenc Múzeum, Roosevelt tér 1-3, H-6701 Szeged, Hungary 4 Kossuth Lajos University, H-4010 Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1. 61