Garam Éva szerk.: Between East and West - History of the peoples living in hungarian lands (Guide to the Archaeological Exhibition of the Hungarian National Museum; Budapest, 2005)
HALL 1 - The Palaeolithic and the Mesolithic (400,000-6000 B.C.) (Viola T. Dobosi)
11. Leaf shaped tools made from radiolarite found in the Jankovich Cave. Middle Palaeolithic, c. 50,000 B.C. Age was poorer in species, herd sizes were considerably larger. Wild horse and reindeer herds grazed on the cold, open grassland and in the river valleys, together with bison, mammoth and rhinoceros. The hunters of the Upper Palaeolithic were familiar with the animals' behaviour and with the local terrain; their efficient weapons and hunting strategies turned hunting into a highly successful enterprise. Their campsites reflect their mobile lifestyle. Most of these campsites were established on the wide, loess-covered terraces flanking the wide rivers, from where they could observe the animals' movements and their watering places. The winter campsites had permanent, sunken huts accommodating several smaller families, while only windbreaks and tents were erected on the summer campsites. The remains of one of these tents built around a framework of wooden posts were uncovered at the Dömös campsite. The tent type used by these hunters has remained in use ever since by reindeer herding peoples. Mountain caves were also occupied; in addition to providing shelter, their cool temperatures made them excellent places for creating fur and meat caches. Another attraction of the Carpathian Basin was the rich variety of raw material sources in its interior. Good quality lithics were especially prized: the hydroquartzite veins in gullies and valleys, the radiolarite nodules which could be easily extracted from limestone layers and obsidian lying scattered on the surface. The varied tool-kit contained implements suitable for working a wide range of raw materials. Wood, bone and antler were worked and carved with strong burins, leather with scrapers, all tools perfected over the millennia, while cleaving was done using burins and borers. Plain, slender blades functioned as pen-knives used for everyday activities. The cultural and trade contacts of prehistoric communities can be studied from the
