Vadas Ferenc (szerk.): A Szekszárdi Béri Balogh Ádám Múzeum Évkönyve 13. (Szekszárd, 1986)

Pál Raczky: The cultural and chronological relations of the Tisza Region during the Middle and the Late Neolithic, as reflected by the excavations at Öcsöd-Kováshalom

ment from Öcsöd has a black painted „sanctuary" on its shoulder. This „sanctuary" is standing on 5 animal feet and features 2 stylized animal heads on its roof (Fig. 7:2). Face pots decorated with incised „M" motifs, a characteristic trait of the Szakáihát culture, disappear and are replaced by new anthropomorphic vessel types (Fig. 16). The white incrustation emphasizing the incised patterns is often complemented with red pastose painting. Hungarian research has long labelled this type of pottery as characterising the „Tisza culture". If we were to consider only the simple archeological information offered by the pottery assemblages from Öcsöd, we would probably reconstruct a radical cultural break between the two layers, arguing for basic differences between the cultures formerly defined as Szakáihát and Tisza. If, however, we were also to consider the settlement pattern we would come to somewhat differing conclusions. The lower layer yielded large 10-15 x 4-6 m houses built around a framework of vertical posts, aligned in close proximity to each other. About 6-8 such houses stood at one time, forming a closed unit, with the streets between them not exceeding a width of 30-50 cm. The vertical posts of the walls were embedded into a foundation trench, and there were traces of internal partitioning walls, too (Fig. 4:1-2). The floors were of clay, periodically renewed. Since the houses had not burnt down it was often difficult to estimate their exact dimensions; a further difficulty was that contemporary levelling and natural erosion also impeded the observation of their exact floorplan. Nonetheless, this compact settlement unit was clearly bordered by a 5-7 m wide zone which, on the testimony of the stone artefacts, bones and a few open-air fireplaces (Fig. 5: 1) found there, must have been a working area. This area was in turn bordered by pits originally dug for obtaining clay for house construction, and subsequently reused as refuse pits. The above-ground house type with periodically renewed walls and floors is a novel phenomenon in the Szakáihát culture since the previous evidence indicated the presence of semi-subterranean huts, in the tradition of the Alföld Linear Pottery [e. g. at TiszaugVasútállomás in: Raczky (1982-a) Fig. 4.]. The settlements of the early Szakáihát culture are without exception single-layered and indicate temporary or seasonal settlements. This likewise conforms to the general settlement pattern of the preceding Alföld Linear Pottery [Makkay (1981) 165-166]. On the other hand, the lower layer at Öcsöd indicates a systematically established settlement. Thus, two widely differing settlement patterns, which correspond to successive chronological phases can be documented within the Szakáihát culture itself. These differences can in no way be attributed to different geographical environments since Tiszaug and Öcsöd overlap in time within the Szakáihát culture area. Above the Szakáihát houses at Öcsöd, we found habitations similar in dimensions and structures, but yielding finds of the Tisza culture (Fig. 2:1-2; Fig. 3). A similarity could likewise be observed in the internal structure of the settlement, namely the presence of a working area. This indicates a continuity between the two layers, supported also by the burials. In the Szakáihát layer, the deceased were buried outside the houses in a contracted position; the majority of the graves did not contain grave goods. The skull, the arms and the legs of the deceased were sprinkled with red ochre, and a small ochre lump was occasionally placed under the skull. Similar graves have been reported from several sites of the Tisza culture 105