A Nyíregyházi Jósa András Múzeum évkönyve 36. - 1994 (Nyíregyháza, 1995)

Katalin Bíró: The role of lithic finds in the Neolithic archaeology of the Alföld region

Katalin BÍRÓ Raw material analysis: a chance for tracing the movement of goods It is well known to students of economy, whether prehistoric or more recent, that raw material sources are distributed unevenly and - from a human point of view - randomly. The question for prehistoric economic interpretation is how much the provenance of certain objects can be traced back to sources; how unique and identifiable can the given product or raw materials found in an archaeological context be. To answer these questions with confidence two parallel directions of research should be made simultaneously, namely the analysis of archaeological materials and that of raw material sources. As a result of the investigations of the last few years, we have reliable and unique information in Hungary concerning the provenance of chipped stone artefacts. The sources were systematically surveyed and the samples analysed. The resulting information and actual pieces of rock samples are stored in the Lithotheca of the Hungarian National Museum (BIRÓ-DOBOSI 1991.). The collection contains raw material samples from larger regions of the Carpathian basin and Central Europe in general, partly as a result of our own collecting trips and exchange programs with colleagues. We would like to extend the scope of the collection to rock samples used for polished stone artefacts and other prehistoric stone utensils. The state of the collection, as well as the amount of analytical information is, however, adequate for doing basic research into prehistoric raw material acquisition and trade. By now, we can form a more-or-less coherent picture of the most important raw materials used in Hungary, and specifically, the Great Hungarian Plain (Fig. 2). Relation between the raw material source and the settlement In the earliest period of human history, sites were preferentially selected where basic conditions of living, such as natural shelter, food resources and raw material sources, interacted. Consequently, Lower Palaeolithic and Middle Palaeolithic settlements are located in certain areas which favoured all the above conditions; at least, the basic raw material sources were not further from the settlement than a day's walking distance. Certain prestigious items - e.g., obsidian in the Subalyuk cave (BARTUCZ et al. 1940.) - may have reached beyond these limits. Low population density and chances of survival all acted to this end. With more effective ways of subsistence such as following herds of animals, the habitation area was detached from the environs of the raw material sources; the route of animals (food) was more important than the vicinity of raw material sources. Further on, the moving communities had the ability to obtain raw materials by seasonal expeditions or barter trade. According to the generally accepted opinion as well as the evidence of sites and raw material studies, this stage was reached in the Carpathian Basin by the Upper Palaeolitliic, especially by the people of the Gravettian complex (KOZLOWSKI 1972/73.). By the Early Neolithic the general spread of productive economy, the habitation area and everyday activity zone was definitely detached from the environs of the raw material source. The raw material structure of the Early Neolithic and the Early Middle Neolithic (earliest Transdanubian LBC, Szatmár Group) seems to be fairly complex and sophisticated as high quality material from distant sources was used, and inferior quality material was neglected, even when the sources were near-by. At the same time, the mountainous regions are devoid of traces of settlements. Activity areas around the source were probably in operation, but there is no evidence of habitation there until the stabilisation and general spread of the productive way of life of the Middle Neolithic. From this time on, the mountainous areas were inhabited as a result of specific activities related to providing for „industrial" needs, such as the quest for raw materials, and for a source of energy etc. The density of the population and the stability of these settlements resulted in productivity and this created a demand in the lowlands. Such an intensive „lithic production period" can be observed in the Middle Neolithic (Tiszadob, Bükk Cultures) in the Tokaj Mts., in the Late Neolitliic (Lengyel I. Culture) in the Mecsek Mts., and, by the Early Copper Age (Lengyel III. Culture) in the Southern Bakony. The level of industrialisation found in the assemblages surrounding the sources is fairly high, as traces of workshop activity have been found. Also, as the settlements surrounding the sources are on land unsuited to agriculture, they could serve to protect and exploit the sources. The fact that the source areas were populated for limited periods does not imply that they were not known and used. For example, the spread of obsidian and Szentgál-type radiolarite is documented in archaeological assemblages throughout prehistory, though inhabitation of the immediate source regions is limited to specific periods. We know from archaeological records, however, that there were certain raw materials with corresponding source regions in use for some periods. In this context, the temporal use of Mátra limnic quartzites (Tisza Culture) and Tevel flint (Transdanubian LPC, Early Lengyel) should be mentioned. There are widely differing reasons for the lack of evidence. The Tevel Mt. source (North West Hungary, in the vicinity of Pápa) is small, and could have been overlooked for a long period of time. The Mátra sources, on the other hand, are distributed over large areas, but the quality is less reliable. Thus it can be seen, that the advance of the Tisza Culture to the Mátra sources - together with the 160 Jósa András Múzeum Évkönyve 1994