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

Pál Raczky–Walter Meier-Arendt–Katalin Kurucz–Zsigmond Hajdú–Ágnes Szikora: A Late Neolithic settlement in the Upper Tisza region and its cultural connections (Prelminary report)

RACZKY - MEIER-ARENDT - KURUCZ - HAJDÚ - SZIKORA tűre of characteristic Lengyel and Herpály types. A number of forms can be traced to Balkanic prototypes. By far the most common form of ornamentation is red and white paint applied after firing, occasionally combined with black (Fig. 6-8). This particular type of painting can be linked to a certain period (especially level 6) of the eponymous Herpály site (KALICZ-RACZKY 1984.116. and Figs. 33-34., KALICZ-RACZKY 1986.105- and Figs. 33-34., KALICZ-RACZKY 1987.b. 125. and Figs. 32-33.,35.). Pottery of the classical Herpály phase, ornamented with close-set parallel bands of lines painted in black also occur at Csőszhalom. This would suggest that the Csőszhalom finds represent a well-definable horizon of the Herpály culture, rather than an independent, separate culture. At the same time, the pottery assemblage from Csőszhalom includes red and white painted types which are comparable to the pottery types and ornamentation of the Lengyel culture. Crusted paint also occurs in the interior of the vessels indicating the non-domestic use of these vessels. This type of pottery was recovered in great quantities from the central area of the tell. The Csőszhalom pottery thus represents a combination of characteristic Herpály and Lengyel types, and includes a conspicuously high number of 'luxury wares' that may be taken to indicate activities ranging beyond day-to-day subsistence. The pottery finds would thus support the above interpretation of the roundels and the tell itself, i.e. the joint presence of the Herpály and Lengyel cultures and the special function of the site. Level 3 of the central settlement part (counted from the top) yielded conspicuously more vessel fragments ornamented with incised Tisza patterns than the overlying levels, suggesting that the Tisza culture too played a major role in the cultural interrelations during the early phase of the Csőszhalom 'settlement', and that this early southern, Tisza and Herpály orientation was later succeeded by an exclusively Herpály one. The distribution and cultural division of Late Neolithic settlements in the Upper Tisza region and in Eastern Slovakia make the attraction of the region fairly obvious. The beginning of the Late Neolithic marked the simultaneous appearance of the Tisza culture (Szerencs, Kenézlő, Zemplén, Cicarovce) from the Great Hungarian Plain, as well as of the Lengyel culture and the Stichbandkeramik from Little Poland (Vel'ke Raskovce, Izkovce, Gönc) (SISKA 1986., 234 VIZDAL 1986.). Sites indicating contacts with the Lengyel culture expanding in a north-easterly direction from Transdanubia and the Northern Mountain Range have also recently been investigated (Aszód, Monosbél, Hernádcéce, etc.). The Hajdúböszörmény-Pródi halom site probably represents an intermediary station in the northern expansion of the Herpály culture. Later, during the Herpály phase characterised by red and white paint, the Upper Tisza and the Bodrog region saw the cultural and strategic dominance of the Herpály-Lengyel complex (Csőszhalom, Oborin, Hrcel). These diverse cultural interrelations can only be explained by the importance of the obsidian resources of the Tokaj Mts. The Late Neolithic cultures of the Carpathian Basin undoubtedly attempted to secure the exploitation of raw material resources with the establishment of outposts - even if these happened to fall outside their cultural distribution territory - and these strategically important sites then functioned as centres or sites of supply ensuring a regular supply and flow of these materials. The role played by Csőszhalom in trade is best reflected by the several thousand stone artefacts and lithics of diverse origin uncovered in the site. A number of small copper ornaments and copper fragments also highlight the strategic importance of the site. The Polgár-Csőszhalom site thus reflects the unique symbiosis of two archaeological complexes. It would appear that a 'central place' was established here, far from the central areas of the Herpály and Lengyel distribution territory, in order to ensure the exploitation of the obsidian sources of the Upper Tisza region and thereby symbolically sanctifying this important cultural common cause. The 'negotiating parties' came to Csőszhalom bringing the most important symbols of their cultural identity and expressed their unity and goodwill with their help. In this sense the Lengyel type roundel and the Herpály type tell carry extremely important information, expanding the framework of a traditional archaeological interpretation and opening new perspectives in the further research of the Late Neolithic of the Tisza region. In this brief summary we have focused on the problems of the Polgár-Csőszhalom site and we have bypassed other important issues, such as the internal chronology and the wider cultural interrelations of the Late Neolithic of the Tisza region. (See the coloured figures in the end of the volume.) Jósa András Múzeum Évkönyve 1994