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 2 - The Neolithic and the Copper Age (6000-2800 B.C.) (Nándor Kalicz, Pál Raczky)

Hungarian Plain. This, in turn, implies a common ancestry for many beliefs and rituals practiced by these communities, similar to the common origins of the many similar features observed in the material cultures. 5. THE ACQUISITION OF RAW MATERIALS AND EXCHANGE The procurement of suitable lithics for the manufacture of stone tools and implements was one of the highest priorities in the lives of the Neolithic communities living in the Carpathian Basin. The main commodities of a wide-ranging exchange network were obsidian (natural glass of volcanic origin) from the Tokaj region, radiolarite (a type of chert) from Transdanubia and various flint types. The ways in which these raw materials were acquired and exchanged ranged from individual enterprise to community control of a source and its trade. Covering several hundreds of kilometres, these exchange networks often extended well beyond the Carpathian Basin and linked diverse cultures into a uniform communications system. The Neolithic communities of the Great Hungarian Plain preferred flint from the Cracow region in southern Poland. Recent investigations have provided a wealth of information on the location and exploitation of Neolithic and Copper Age flint mines in the Northern Mountain Range and in the Bakony Mountains (Miskolc, Szentgál, Tata, Sümeg). In addition to the creation of exchange networks for the raw materials needed in daily life, networks for the trade of a various prestige commodities were also established. These exotic wares included rock crystal, marble, alabaster, bitumen, ochre and various shells. Spondylus, a marine shell native to the distant Adriatic and Aegean Sea, was one of the principal prestige commodities. In some cases, exceptionally good quality vessels were also traded, as for example the delicately ornamented lovely pots made in the Bükk region,