Budapest Régiségei 36. (2002) – In memoriam Rózsa Kalicz-Schreiber (1929-2001)

Raczky Pál: Evidence of contacts between the Lengyel and Tisza-Herpály Cultures at the late neolithic site of Polgár-Csőszhalom : relationships between Central European and Balkan ritual practice and sacral thought in the Upper Tisza Region = A lengyeli és tisza-herpályi kulturális érintkezés régészeti emlékei Polgár-Csőszhalom késő neolitikus lelőhelyén : a rituális gyakorlat és a szakrális gondolkodás közép-európai, illetve balkáni eredetű elemeinek összefüggései a Felső-Tisza-vidéken 79-92

PÁL RACZKY The aforementioned research results show the eminent archaeological significance of the Polgár-Csőszhalom settlement, since these large surface excavations not only expose a reliable profile in a narrowly defined area during the Late Neolithic. In addition, they facilitate the drafting of broader cultural connections in eastern Central Europe. This overall picture, previously supported by archaeological topography can be better founded and further elaborated on using the new data to be published in this paper. Consequently, the present article is a review of archaeological phenomena and monuments from Polgár-Csőszhalom that either played a role in ancient ritual activity or represent differences and similarities between the sacral activities of the Lengyel and Tisza-Herpály Cultures. Burials represent a noteworthy manifestation of how space was internally sub-divided at Polgár-Csőszhalom. They also help in distinguishing between the prehistoric significance of various areas. The horizontal settlement covers 4.5 hectares outside the tell. This surface revealed the remains of 62 houses and 116 graves. The latter formed small clusters of one, two or three. Meanwhile, a population of 30CM00 souls may be estimated on the basis of the houses. Thus, the rest of the population must have been buried somewhere else. Moreover, children's graves occur but rarely in the single-layer, horizontal settlements among the houses. They occur very frequently however, within the tell, surrounded by the circular ditch system. Already Ida Bognár-Kutzián noticed during her first survey excavations in 1957, that the trench opened on the Polgár-Csőszhalom tell contained two graves of children, four of adult men and a symbolic burial (with grave goods considered male attributes). Women's graves, on the other hand, were missing.

7 In addition, the analysis of animal bones from these early excavations was suggested the consumption of tremendous amounts of meat. These impressive data encouraged population estimates based on meat consumption that are hard to consider realistic.

8 Subsequent statistical analyses of the animal remains brought to light during the course of recent excavations showed a dominance of wild animal remains within the circular ditch system, while food refuse around the houses in the external, horizontal settlement were characterized by a majority of domestic animal remains.

9 This chain of interrelated evidence not only shows that various parts of the settlement played different roles in the life of the prehistoric community This also 6 BÁCSKAY-T. BIRO 2002. 851; KACZANOWSKA-KOZLOWSKY 1997. 225. 7 BOGNÁR-KUTZIÁN 1963. 383, 414. «VÖRÖS 1987. 27-29; MAKKAY 1991. 323; RACZKY 1998. 482-486. 9 SCHWARTZ 2002. 853-856. implies at least two levels of sacral activity characterized by different degrees of organization. It may be hypothesized that certain activities were related to house units, that is, to the family as a social entity. In addition, however, special activities were isolated from the mundane, household environment, within the concentric ditches, possibly requiring a different type of communal organization. In the sphere of Lengyel cultural influence, between Trans dan ubia and the Upper Danube region, areas distinguished by circular ditches tend to demarcate sacral spaces. This observation is further corroborated by the example of Se, a settlement where the fragments of 130 anthropomorphic figurines were found within the concentric ditch system, while they tend to occur but sporadically at coeval sites.

10 A similar observation was published from the settlement of Tesetice in Moravia, where anthropomorphic figurines occurred 3.5 times more frequently from within the circular ditch system than in the pertinent horizontal settlement.

11 These examples indicate the clear connection between a particular archaeological feature (circular ditch system) and a special group of artifacts (anthropomorphic figurines). In contrast to the aforementioned cases, figurines whose sacral meaning may well be hypothesized were equally likely to come to light from the inner tell area and the external, horizontal settlement at Polgár-Csőszhalom. It may be said, in general, that there is no evident concentration in the spatial distribution of figurines within this settlement. This observation seems to suggest that at Polgár-Csőszhalom both territorial units served as areas of non-mundane activity. An assemblage of miniature figurines were found in one of the burnt houses within the tell area surrounded by the ditch system.

12 The best spiritual and formal parallel to this find was found in a cultic assemblage from Cicarovce.

13 These phenomena represent Tisza-Herpály Culture traditions where similar sacral behavior may be observed at the sites in question. From the viewpoint of the present investigations, an essentially new type of find came to light from the central place within the circular ditch system at the tell settlement of Polgár-Csőszhalom, a fragmented, anthropomorphic vessel (Fig. 1. la-c, 1. 2a-c). Fortunately the original shape of this vessel can be reliably reconstructed: its body is follows the form of a human torso, decorated with two legs bent at the knee. Meanwhile two small arm-shaped clay columns originate on the broken profile line of this biconical vessel (Fig. 1. 2a-c). Unfortunately the rim that must once 10 KALICZ 1998. 65-66. U

PODBORSKY1985. 210. n RACZKY ET AL. 1996. 13 VÍZDAL 1980. Fig. 9,14,144-145. 80