Tálas László szerk.: The late neolithic of the Tisza region (1987)

Öcsöd-Kováshalom (P. Raczky)

Vessel with incised lines arranged in meandric stripes filled with stabs and black painting after firing. Probably an import from Transylvania or the Bánat. H: 11 cm [23] houses was pottery of various forms and ornamentation. There are marked differences between the ceramic inventory of the lower and upper levels of the settlement (phases A and B). Phase A saw a predominance of cups carinated in the lower third of the vessel body, jugs with elbow-shaped handles and large-size, Szakálhát-type face pots with the characteristic M motif incised on their neck and incised spiral patterns on their body. Smaller vessels were ornamented with continuous spiral patterns or concentric circles, often flanked by red and black painted bands. Concentric circles were sometimes replaced by lozenges. One conspicuous stylistic element is the separation of these continuous patterns with a knob. Pottery ornamentation shows a tendency of separating continuous patterns into well-defined parts into which individual motifs are set. This reflects a process of polarisation and, at the same time, of concentration in the patterning of ornamental motifs on the vessel surface, a process showing formal similarities with trends identified in social development and settlement patterns. The similar tendencies of development in these two distinct spheres probably reflect a deeper relationship. A similar convergence between settlement patterns and ornamentation can also be demonstrated for the younger phase of the Central European Linear Pottery. Changes in pottery ÖCSÖD-KOVÁSHALOM Fragments of vessels decorated with wide stripes of black paint after firing. Classical Tisza culture. Scale cca. 1:2 [24] ornamentation akin to that observed at Öcsöd have been interpreted as the outward expression of social and economic transformations. Concomitantly with the concentration of population, an increasing social and economic competition arose between various population groups, accompanied by an in'' •':'.' •' _ ^ - ••' ' .' "' ":' '•: •:•::• • 73