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 3-4 - The Bronze Age (2800-800 B.C.) (Ildikó Szathmári)

record shows that many of the long-lived tell settlements, such as the one at Jászdózsa, were abandoned during this period. The uppermost five occupation levels at Jászdózsa (levels V-I, Koszider period) reflect these changes: the settlement layout changed once again, houses became smaller and often had a covered porch. The potters often drew from the ornamental repertoire of neighbouring cultures when decorating their wares. Even though the size and internal division of the houses changed from one period to the other, their construction technique remained the same. Houses were built on a rectangular plan and had daub walls supported by a wooden framework. The saddle roof was made from reed and wood, and it rested on the massive purlins and the daub walls. The floors were of beaten clay, which were periodically renewed with a fresh layer of clay (Fig. 33). The exhibition presents reconstructions of houses from different periods of the settlement. Pottery dominates the many hundreds of thousands of finds brought to light during the investigation of the Jászdózsa tell settlement; other finds include the stone and bone tools used in daily life, as well as animal bones. Aside from a bronze dagger and a burnt lump of bronze, no bronze artefacts were found, even though the mould fragments indicate that bronzeworking was practiced on the settlement. One intriguing question as regards tell settlements is the number of occupants during a particular phase, especially in view of the fact that the houses were closely spaced, often no more than 1 metre apart. The estimates based on the findings of tell excavations suggest that the number of contemporary houses in the central, tell part of these settlements ranged between 15 and 20, suggesting that the number of occupants was about 150—200. Together with the occupants of the outer settlement around the tell, the overall population of these settlements may have been as high as 500. 6. FINDS OF EVERYDAY LIFE The Bronze Age communities settling here 3-4 thousand years ago lived their life much in the same way as we do, even if under considerably simpler circumstances. How did they pass their days? How did they live, how did they work, what did they eat and drink and, no less important, what did they believe in? These are questions, which can never be accurately answered. Still, modern excavation techniques, the findings of related disciplines (environmental archaeology, archaeobotany, archaeozoology, etc.) have greatly expanded our knowledge of the daily lives of prehistoric peoples. Most of the finds brought to light during settlement excavations are the relics of everyday life. The objects preserved in their original location in houses destroyed by fire provide a glimpse into prehistoric life. The most frequent finds from excavations are the handthrown clay vessels used for cooking, storage and eating. Since their form and ornamentation differs from culture to culture and from period to period, pottery is highly suitable for establishing the internal chronology of a particular period. Beside the simple, lidded pots, pans and jugs, the pottery finds usually include elaborately decorated vessels. These ornate vessels, probably kept on wooden shelves on the house walls, represent the finest pieces of the potter's craft. Clay spoons, strainers, baking trays and frying pans were used by ancient housewives to prepares meals. Hearths and ovens were among the most important and most common furnishings of Bronze Age houses. The many variants uncovered during excavations range from simple, plastered hearths to decorated rimmed ones and domed ovens. One new innovation was the portable hearth combined with a vessel or a grille, which became extremely popular around the middle third of the 2nd millennium B.C. The ember covers lying near the hearths prevented fires from going out, while the clay firedogs, usually found in a strongly