Folia archeologica 45.

Viola T. Dobosi - István Gatter: Paleolit hegyikristály eszközök és tájékozódó fluid zárvány vizsgálatuk

NEOLITHIC: BURIALS 57 bones in front of the mouth. The right arm was bent, the legs were drawn up. The deceased was laid on its left side, with a southeast to northwest orientation. Grave goods: an obsidian blade, under the ribs; three Spondylus pendants, one lay by the cervical vertebrae, the other two were discovered during the anthropological analysis; three necklaces strung from limestone beads, with the beads lying scattered in the region of the chest anclthe right elbow; a small prism shaped bead carved from bone, also found during the anthropological examination of the skeletal remains. Gender: male, age: maturus. The Neolithic settlement and the location of the burials Several refuse pits and pottery sherds were found around the burials. No post holes were identified in the investigated area. The spatial extent and concentration of surface settlement traces suggest that the nine burials

6 lay at the edge of the settlement. Earlier research has noted two distinct patterns in burial practices. (1) The graves either lay in the temporarily 'unoccupied' or 'abandoned' areas of the settlement.

7 There is a distinct tendency from the Middle Neolithic to bury the deceased farther away from the inner/central areas of the settlement.

8 These burials often form clusters, and can in fact be regarded as small 'cemeteries'.

9 It would appear that this was the practice at the Tiszalúc settlement. (2) More recent investigations have also noted burials near houses.

1

0 The examination of the relation between Neolithic burials and the corresponding settlement is hampered by the fact that not one single settlement site has been completely excavated. Only a smaller or greater part of the burials that can be associated with a given settlement are known. The highest number of burials from any one settlement is twenty-five, and thus burial patterns, the position of burials relative to each other, the relative chronology of the burials and the population size of the settlement cannot be established with certainty." The burial rite Grave pits Graves which were dug into the loessy subsoil were outlined as slightly elongated oval pits (graves B-4, B-9 and B-13). The form of the grave pit is uncertain in the case of grave B-5, B-10 and B-l 1 since these graves were dug into the upper humus layer, and the colour or texture of their filí could barely be distinguished from the surrounding area. However, view of the more or less similar burial rite, we can assume that the deceased were also deposited in oval grave pits. Graves B-3, B-6 and B-l 2 differ from the above, since a concentration of sherds was noted during their clearing, although no settlement features were noted. The 6 Further burials can be assumed from the density of the known burials. 7 Korek 1970, 8; Kaliez-Makkay 1977, 73; Kurucz 1994, Fig. 1; Kalicz-Koós 1997, 30-31. 8 In the Early Neolithic, the deceased were buried in the used and occupied part of the settlement, usually in refuse pits around the houses. Cp. Kutzián 1944, 93, 97; Trogmayer 1968, 120; Raczky 1989, 21-26. 9 Tiszavasvári-Paptelekhát: Kalicz-Makkay 1977, Fig. 45; Tiszavasvári-Deákhalmi dűlő: Kurucz 1994, Fig. 1. 1

0 Füzesabony-Gubakút: Domboróczki 1997, 22. " The rescue excavations conducted during the construction of the M3 motorway have furnished important new data in this respect: Wotf-Simonyi 1995, 5; Domboróczki 1997, 22; Kalicz-Koós 1997, 30-31.