Balogh Zoltán (szerk.): Neograd 2018 - A Dornyay Béla Múzeum Évkönyve 41. (Salgótarján, 2018)
Péntek Attila-Zandler Krisztián: Evidence of middle palaeolithic south from Vanyarc (Nógrád county, Northern Hungary)
le the Carpathian radiolarite. Its primary geological source is the area of the Vlára Valley in the White Carpathians12. The colour of this variant is primarily deep red, greenish grey, partially with marble pattern, often covered with pebble cortex remains. Unfortunately, neither the trace element composition nor the colour variety can not be regarded as an univoque „fingerprint” concerning the provenance13. So thus, radiolarite in pebble form can be found on the eastern verge of the Börzsöny Mountains, between Hont and Nógrád in the gravels of “Miocene Nagyorosz Pebble Formation”'4. And finally, radiolarite can occur generally, even if in limited quantities, at almost all gravels in the Cserhát Mountains, in the form of smaller or bigger pebbles suitable for knapping. It is worth mentioning a single flake made of nummulitic chert. The utilization of this raw material during the Palaeolithic is well documented15. In the case of the tools, the raw material utilization shows an entirely dissimilar picture. Even though the number of tools is less than 100, for the sake of evidence the percental proportions will be given. The ratio of the local limnic silicite is only 48,15 %, those of the siliceous pebble and felsitic porphyry are the same (22,22%). In the lithic assemblage, there are 27 formal Palaeolithic tools (12,8% of the total assemblage). Among the tools, the end-scrapers (a small end-scraper made on a blade, 10 artefacts made on a flake) dominate (Figure 2: 1-3, Figure 9: 6, Figure 10:1). Their raw material is mostly local limnic silicite (six artefacts) or siliceous pebble (three artefacts). One artefact was made of Mátra-type limnic silicite, another one of felsitic porphyry. The end-scrapers were generally made on thick flakes of sub-circular form. However, in some cases, the blanks were amorphous raw material chunks. The mostly semi-abrupt working edges are approximately straight or slightly curved. They are often, occasionally several times renewed. In five cases lateral retouch is present as well. The sole end-scraper made of felsitic porphyry has slightly curved, steep, with several times renewed working edge. The distal parts of its lateral edges are retouched too (43x37x11 mm; Figure 2: 1.). The right lateral edge of a roughly elaborated atypical end-scraper made on a thick, amorphous local limnic silicite chunk is retouched (37x30x17 mm; Figure 2:3.). The second most frequent tool type is represented by the side-scrapers (seven artefacts). The local raw materials dominate, four artefacts are made of limnic silicite, a single piece of a siliceous pebble. Two artefacts were made of felsitic porphyry. Characteristically enough, the side-scrapers were created also on thick flakes or raw material shatters. Typologically they are various, there are four simple straight si- de-scrapers, one piece each of simple curved, bifacial curved and simple transversal one. The blank of the single side-scraper made of siliceous pebble is a thick flake. Its straight left lateral edge, which has broken recently, was originally in its entire length retouched. On the distal end the evidence of microblade detachment can be seen (33x30x12 mm; Figure 2: 5). The unworked left lateral edge of a bifacial curved side-scraper made on a thick local limnic silicite flake creates a natural back. The 12 CHEBEN, CHEBEN 2010 13 T. BIRÓ 2009 14 KORPÁS 1998: 69-70, 120; GYALOG 2005:115 15 MARKÓ, KÁZMÉR 2004 223
