Funeral Archaeology and Avar Culture: Old Excavations Yield Serial Data

Abstract

Cemeteries of the Avar Period (567-829) in Hungaryedited by I. Kovrig. Vol. I: E. Garam, I. Kovrig, J. Gy. Szabó, Gy. Török, Avar Finds in the Hungarian National Museum (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 1975) 368 pp. with 152 Figures and 37 Plates. Vol. II: A. Kiss, Avar Cemeteries in County Baranya (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 1977) 174 pp. with 71 Figures and 92 Plates. The volumes are published by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest V. Alkotmány utca 21, Budapest, Hungary, and distributed by Kultura, H-1389, Budapest, P.O.B. 149, Hungary.

The Avars occupied the lands surrounding the Carpathian Basin (the old Roman province of Pannonia) from 567 A.C. until the early 9th century, but they are little known historically. To their literate Christian neighbors they figured only as dangerous enemies and Charlemagne destroyed them as such. Only within this century has their material culture been identified and archaeological research has set about trying to reconstruct their civilization. Hungarian scholars have advanced strong arguments that much information relating to the social structure as well as to the religious mentality is “coded” in the cemeteries. A new corpus of volumes, the first two of which are reviewed here, are intended to provide a systematic presentation of the excavation of thousands of tombs since the 1930s. This series promises to provide a quantitatively significant body of data on a given funeral horizon, as well as a coherent point of view on the material culture of the Avars, of great interest to students of the early Middle Ages in Europe in its interrelations with the world of the steppes.     

Über deutsch‐ungarische Beziehungen der Medizin im Zeitalter der Aufklärung ‐ zugleich ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Pestinokulation

The influence of German science and medicine on the development of Hungarian medicine in the age of Enlightenment has been extraordinary strong. Many Hungarian medical students staid in German medical faculties. The medical interrelationships between Germany and Hungary in the 18^th century are discussed in an overview according to following dimensions: education of protestant Hungarian medical students at German »Aufklaerungs‐Universitaeten«, practical and theoretical resonance, membership of scientific societies, personal contacts and correspondence. Outstanding personalities of this aera were Daniel Fischer, István Weszprémi, Abraham Vater. Special attention is given to a new idea: inoculation against plague as first described by A. Vater in his work Blattern‐Beltzen (1721). Thirty years later I. Weszprémi published his original conception ‐ independently from Vater ‐ in the Tentamen de inoculanda peste (1755).     

Les Maladies de L’âme Comme Lieu de Rencontre Entre Médecine et Philosophie dans les Textes Arabes Médiévaux (IXe-XIe Siècle)

In the medical texts written in Arabic between the 9^th and the 11^th centuries, the diseases of the soul played an important part in the physicians’ reflection on the nature of the soul and its relationship to the body. In the 9^th and the beginning of the 10^th century, this medical anthropology was shaped by a tradition that was both Platonic and Galenic. But in the 10^th, the influence of Aristotle became most prominent in Arabic philosophy, and as a result the main lines of this medical anthropology were questioned, as was the role of medical knowledge and its relation to natural philosophy.     

Strontium isotope analysis and human mobility during the Neolithic and Copper Age: a case study from the Great Hungarian Plain

From the Late Neolithic to the Early Copper Age on the Great Hungarian Plain (4500 BC, calibrated) a transformation in many aspects of life has been inferred from the archaeological record. This transition is characterized by changes in settlements, subsistence, cultural assemblages, mortuary customs, and trade networks. Some researchers suggest that changes in material culture, particularly the replacement of long-occupied tells with smaller, more dispersed hamlets, indicates a shift from sedentary farming villages to a more mobile, agropastoral society that emphasized animal husbandry and perhaps secondary products of domestication. In a previous study (Giblin, 2009), preliminary radiogenic strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) isotope data from human dental enamel showed that Copper Age individuals expressed more variable isotope values than their Neolithic predecessors. These data provided support for the idea that Copper Age inhabitants of the Plain were acquiring resources from a greater geographic area, findings that seemed consistent with a more mobile lifestyle. In this article a larger sample from human and animal skeletal material is used to re-evaluate earlier work and shed new light on the transition from the Neolithic to the Copper Age in eastern Hungary. The expanded sample of strontium isotopes from human dental enamel shows that ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values are more variable during the Copper Age, but the change is more pronounced in the Middle Copper Age than in the Early Copper Age. These results, along with recently published complementary research, indicate that the transition from the Late Neolithic tell cultures of the Plain to the more dispersed Copper Age hamlets was more gradual than previously thought, and that the emergence of an agropastoral economy does not explain changes in settlement and material culture.     

Klippel‐Feil syndrome in an Early Hungarian Period juvenile skeleton from Austria

The excellently preserved skeleton of a juvenile from the Early Hungarian Period (10^th century AD), recently excavated in Gnadendorf (Lower Austria), displays typical symptoms of Type II congenital ‘Klippel‐Feil syndrome’ (KFS): fused cervical vertebrae 2 and 3, and fused thoracic vertebrae 2 and 3. Other features observed in this skeleton clinically reported for KFS include a basilar impression and a spina bifida occulta. The bilateral symmetrical hypoplasia of the basilar part of the occipital bone is probably also linked to this syndrome, as well as the constricted external acoustic meati, which almost certainly led to hearing impairment. A cranial lesion and its possible consequences are discussed in the context of the specific KFS alterations. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evidence of Trephinations among the Garamantes,a Late Holocene Saharan Population

The current communication examines three male individuals who belonged to the Garamantian civilisation, Fezzan, Libya. The individuals have been dated to ad 1–700 and exhibit signs of perforations on their crania, which appear to represent trephinations. The sophistication of the practice and its successful execution, as evidenced by traces of healing, indicate that the Garamantes possessed the knowledge of complex surgical procedures. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A case of dyschondrosteosis in an Anglo‐Saxon skeleton

Osteological examination of a 9^th–11^th century skeleton from Black Gate Cemetery, Newcastle‐upon‐Tyne, reveals Madelung's deformity of both forearms and shortened stature due to reduced tibial length. These are indicative of dyschondrosteosis, a genetically transmitted mild form of mesomelia. This case adds to a small but growing presence of this condition in pre‐modern societies. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Absolute chronology of fluvial events in the Upper Dnieper River system and its palaeogeographic implications

A set of 121 radiocarbon and OSL dates has been compiled from the Upper Dnieper River and tributary valleys, Western European Russia. Each date was attributed according to geomorphic/sedimentological events and classes of fluvial activity. Summed probability density functions for each class were used to establish phases of increasing and reducing fluvial activity. The oldest detected reduction of fluvial activity was probably due to glacial damming at LGM. Within the Holocene three palaeohydrological epochs of millennial-scale were found: (1) high activity at 12,000–8,000 cal BP marked by large river palaeochannels; (2) low activity at 8,000–3,000 cal BP marked by formation of zonal-type soils on -floodplains; short episodes of high floods occurred between 6,500—4,400 cal BP; (3) contrasting hydrological oscillations since 3,000 cal BP with periods of high floods between 3,000–2,300 (2,000) and 900–100 cal BP separated by long interval of low floods 2,300 (2,000)-900 cal BP when floodplains were not inundated — zonal-type soils were developing and permanent settlements existed on floodplains. In the last millennium, four centennial-scale intervals were found: high flooding intervals are mid-11–mid-15^th century and mid-17–mid-20^th century. Intervals of flood activity similar to the present-day were: mid-15–mid-17^th century and since mid-19^th century till present. In the context of palaeohydrological changes, discussed are selected palaeogeographic issues such as: position of the glacial boundary at LGM, role of changing amounts of river runoff in the Black Sea level changes, floodplain occupation by Early Medieval population.     

National Alcohol in Hungary’s Reform Era: Wine,Spirits, and the Patriotic Imagination

Abstract

Hungarian elites saw wine consumption as a matter of national pride. The glorification of wine, and particularly of the luxury vintage Tokaji, reflected the economic interest and social customs of the Hungarian aristocracy, whose members tended to see themselves as the Hungarian nation. When liberal reformers began rationalizing the wine sector for mass production and export in the early nineteenth century, wine patriotism also became merged with the economic nationalism of Hungary’s Reform Era. Hungarian wine patriotism involved the denigration of alcoholic beverages other than wine, such as beer and spirits, since Hungarian public opinion associated these other alcoholic beverages with non-Magyar minorities in the Kingdom of Hungary, such as Slovaks, Croats, Germans, or Jews. Hungarian wine patriotism thus also illustrates the rise of Magyar chauvinism, anticipating ethnic conflict in the Kingdom of Hungary.     

The Excavations at Tel 'Eton (2006–2009): A Preliminary Report

Abstract

Tel 'Eton, commonly identified with biblical 'Eglon, is a large site in the trough valley in the southeastern Shephelah. Since the summer of 2006, Bar-Ilan University has been carrying out a large-scale exploration project at the site and its surroundings. The excavations were preceded by a detailed mapping of the site, which was subsequently divided into 39 sub-units. This was followed by survey and shovel tests in each of those units, and by full-scale excavations in four excavation areas. It appears that the site was first settled in the Early Bronze Age, and again in the Middle Bronze Age to the late Iron Age (8^th century BCE). Following a settlement gap in the 7^th–5^th centuries BCE, the site was resettled for a short period in the late Persian or early Hellenistic period. Among the major finds is a thick Assyrian destruction layer (8^th century BCE), which sealed many houses with their content, including many pottery vessels, metal artifacts, and botanical material (some still within the vessels), and many additional finds. The present article summarizes the results of the explorations of the site in 2006–2009.     

Civil society,radicalism and the rediscovery of mythic nationalism

The article argues that contrary to the widely held view that traces the recent rise of illiberalism in Hungary and Eastern Europe to a weak civil society, the past decade has witnessed a surge of civil society activism. But rather than working exclusively towards strengthening and complementing liberal political institutions, civil society has also provided fertile soil to the spread of right‐wing populism, radicalism and xenophobia. The analysis suggests that civil society organisations have in fact played an important role in the right‐wing radicalisation of contemporary Hungarian politics. Conservative civic groups have been instrumental in reinvigorating the symbolic vocabulary of a mythic nationalism that was widespread at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth century as well as in the 1930s. The resurrection of nationalist, irredentist and anti‐Semitic symbols and paraphernalia (e.g. greater Hungary car stickers) has been a major vehicle for increasing the public visibility and political impact of these groups. The article shows through case studies of specific organisations how this seemingly anachronistic symbolic repertoire has found new resonance in contemporary Hungarian public life.     

THE MEDIEVAL URBAN CHURCHYARD AS A MEETING PLACE: A CASE STUDY OF FUNCTION AND ORGANISATION OF THE CHURCHYARD OF ST. CLEMENS IN COPENHAGEN

The article presents the results of a study based on activity analysis of a medieval churchyard of St. Clemens in the urban setting of Copenhagen. The churchyard was in function from the 11^th to 16^th century revealing changes in layout and burial rites over time. A glimpse of the symbolic life of the medieval Copenhageners is also exposed and analysed. Moreover, the study of the churchyard reveals activities of a more secular nature and presents some of the activities that must have been part of everyday life in the medieval town. Thus, the churchyard has not only been an arena for meetings between the living and the dead but also a location for experiencing the urban life burgeoning outside the churchyard. For comparison, a recently discovered contemporaneous churchyard at Rådhuspladsen is also discussed.     

Strontium isotope analysis of Neolithic and Copper Age populations on the Great Hungarian Plain

The strontium isotope ratio (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) is used in archaeological studies to identify major events of population movement in prehistory such as migration, conquest, and inter-marriage. This study shows that the strontium isotope method can be expanded to identify more subtle shifts in prehistoric human mobility. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotope ratios were analyzed in dental enamel from human and faunal specimens from the Late Neolithic and Copper Age on the Great Hungarian Plain. The archaeological record indicates that several aspects of life changed during the transition from the Late Neolithic to the Copper Age (ca. 4500 BC) in Hungary; evidence for increased interaction over a wide geographical area, less resource pooling and the use of secondary products has been used to support the idea that local populations became more mobile, perhaps due to the adoption of an agro-pastoral economy. Results from this study identify a change in the range of strontium isotope values from the Late Neolithic to the Copper Age from a very narrow range of values to a much broader range of values, which suggests that changes in how land and resources were utilized on the Great Hungarian Plain affected incorporation of strontium into the skeletal system. This study indicates that the strontium isotope ratio is a valuable tool for identifying more subtle changes in prehistoric behavior such as a shift to a more pastoral economy.     

Neonatal Mortality,Young Calf Slaughter and Milk Production during the Early Neolithic of North Western Mediterranean

The North‐Western Mediterranean witnessed a rapid expansion of farmers and their livestock during the Early Neolithic period. Depending on the region, cattle played a more or less important role in these communities; however how these animals were exploited for their milk is not clear. Here we investigate calf mortality to determine indirectly whether cattle dairying was practised by Early Neolithic stock herders. Age‐at‐death (AtD) frequencies for calves from two sites: Trasano (Italy, Impressa culture: 7–6^th millennium BC) and La Draga (Spain, Cardial culture: 6^th millennium BC) were estimated from dental eruption and development stages, and measurements of un‐fused post‐cranial material. Adult age classes are well represented in the dental AtD frequencies and were interpreted as the result of the slaughter of prime beef and retired lactating females. For calves aged less than 12 months, there was no statistical difference in the AtD frequencies based on dental and post‐cranial material indicating that the data is a good representation of the mortality patterns of calves, either natural or deliberate. At both sites there was a strong mortality peak at 3–6 months in all AtD profiles. At La Draga, this peak was clearly differentiated from a peak at 0–1 month, which can be interpreted neonatal mortality possible a consequence of the birthing season coinciding with the end of winter during more humid climatic conditions that at present. The deliberate slaughter peak around 3–6 months is discussed, and we propose that stock herders controlled the mortality of infant classes, possibly in response to variable external environment pressures while maintaining animal productivity. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

FROM BRONZE AGE HILLFORT TO CAPITAL CITY NEW RADIOCARBON DATES AND THE FIRST ARCHAEOBOTANICAL INVESTIGATION AT THE VILNIUS CASTLE HILL

The ‘Castle Hill’ represents the core territory of Vilnius, around which gravitated urban development, eventually culminating in the foundation of the capital of Lithuania. However, we know very little about the earliest occupation on Castle Hill - how it developed over time, and what the activities were of the people that inhabited the site. While the study of plant remains can provide a crucial insight into human staple foods, agricultural activities and the palaeoenvironment, previous attempts of archaeobotanical investigations of such an important cultural heritage site was cut short due to the outbreak of World War II. Here is presented the first archaeobotanical analyses from the territory of Castle Hill together with new radiocarbon dates stretching from the 8^th century BC until the 14^th century AD. The primary archaeobotanical analyses in combination with published datasets from adjacent regions around Castle Hill show that the diversification of crops and the introduction of various crop rotation practises during the 8-13^th centuries AD. Here, for the first time, attention is drawn to the agricultural strategies in medieval Vilnius that likely played a pivotal role in the formation and development of the city.     

Early Copper Age Settlements in the Körös Region of the Great Hungarian Plain

Abstract

This article discusses research carried out by the Körös Regional Archaeological Project from 2000 to 2006 at Early Copper Age Tiszapolgár Culture sites on the Great Hungarian Plain. To build a model of social organization for the period, we incorporated information from regional geomorphological studies, soil chemistry analysis, archaeological surface surveys, remote sensing, and systematic excavations at Early Copper Age sites in the Körös Valley of southeastern Hungary. Previous models characterized the transition from the Neolithic period to the Copper Age as an abrupt shift from a tell-based, sedentary, agricultural lifeway to one based on mobile cattle herding. By studying the transition between these periods on multiple geographic and temporal scales, we have identified a more gradual process with widespread regional variation in cultural patterns. Similar social processes characterize the transition between chronological periods and cultural phases in other parts of the world, and we suggest that a multiscalar approach is effective for building comparative archaeological models of long-term social change.     

Death in the line of duty: late medieval burials at the site of Lepenski Vir,Serbia

Four late medieval burials were excavated at the site of Lepenski Vir in the Iron Gates Gorge, Serbia. One of the individuals, Lepenski Vir 62, exhibits evidence of a sharp‐force trauma on the left parietal, consistent with a combat wound. None of the other contemporaneous individuals show any evidence of trauma or other pathology on the few preserved bones. We argue that the skeletons belong to soldiers involved in the border warfare on the Danube which was quite common at the end of the 14^th and the first half of the 15^th century between Serbian, Hungarian and Turkish forces. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

“Bamboo Spine” in a Migration Period Horse from Hungary

Intervertebral ankylosis in protohistoric horses, commonly attributed to excessive riding, is well known in Central Europe. The single block fusion of 11 thoracic and 6 lumbar vertebrae was briefly reported by Bökönyi (1974) from an ad 7th century, Avar Period cemetery in western Hungary. Recently, the dating of this animal has been revised. The horse has been documented in detail and reevaluated within its broader sacrificial context (Vörös, 1999). Our paper tackles the yet unexplored pathological aspects of this extreme disorder, similar to Bekhterev's disease in humans, a phenomenon previously not considered in horse. Differential diagnoses and aetiology are discussed.