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)

30. Clay altar decorated with ram heads from the Szeged area. Neolithic, 5300-5000 B.C. modelled from clay uncovered in three houses at the Early Neolithic settlement of Szolnok-Szanda are evidence of the cults practiced in these houses. Comparable finds from Çatal Hüyük in Turkey and from Nea Nikomedeia in Greece suggest a common ancestry for similar beliefs observed over an extensive territory. The actual locations where activities expressing the cohesion of a community took place can rarely be identified in the archaeological record: the few exceptions include the areas enclosed with a system of concentric ditches from the Late Neolithic. These areas could be approached through two or four entrances oriented towards the four cardinal points. Very often, these areas yielded quite unusual find assemblages. At Polgár-Csőszhalom, for example, an assemblage of miniature clay objects - a female figurine, small sun discs and miniature vessels (Fig. 29) - was recovered from the central area enclosed by the ditches. One possible interpretation of these enclosures is that they functioned as some sort of symbolic regional centres, where several, distant communities gathered from time to time. 8. CULTS AND THE RELICS OF RELIGIOUS BELIEFS The beliefs and cults of Neolithic and Copper Age communities were governed by the cyclical nature of their agrarian life-style and the reverence of ancestral traditions. The most fundamental ideas were expressed in the duality of birth and death, masculine and feminine, or sun and moon, darkness and light on the cosmic level. These beliefs were reflected in various symbolic acts and rituals, which played an important role in the life of these communities. The intricate web of beliefs left very few traces in the archaeological record; it can best be grasped in human and animal figurines. The sculpting or the "creation" of these figurines and, later, their intentional breakage and burial were also part of ritual activities. The Late Copper Age idols with changeable heads were most likely used during some sort of ritual activity: the headless idols and the ones into which a head was placed symbolised two situations, the start and the end of a particular "event". In addition to the primary meanings attached to Neolithic and Copper Age depictions, these figurines also reflect the artistic imagery of these periods. The clay house models and altars (Fig. 30) are images of the Neolithic and Copper Age "built environment". One exceptionally lovely assemblage of figurines and altars from Vésztő-Mágor represents the complete furnishings of the area reserved for cults and rituals in houses, and allows a rare glimpse into the complexity of these rituals. Other expressions of this belief system include unique creations, such as the boot vessel from Tiszaluc, depicting four boots with a single leg (Fig. 31). The containment and pouring of a liquid with magical properties was probably part of the one-time ritual activities. Pits with a special form and function can be regarded as a special type of sacrificial place from the beginning of the Neolithic. Most of these pits lay beside or inside houses; their infill of successive burnt layers with ash