Banknotes and national identity in central and eastern Europe

This paper provides an account of the imagery portrayed on the banknotes that have been issued in central and eastern Europe during the 1990s. In doing so, it highlights the methodological complexity of undertaking such research, and emphasises the need for the development of a rigorously compiled database that can then be used to draw comparisons between the imagery of different states. Banknotes are more than simply economic phenomena, and they provide an important expression of the cultural and political identities that have helped to shape the nations in the past. Four main conclusions are drawn: first, it is these past identities that continue to dominate the construction of national identity today; second, the imagery associated with such national identity is mainly representative of masculine identities; third, it is mainly portraits of key historic personalities that dominate the imagery; and fourth, a wide range of differing mechanisms have been used to generate these images.     

The distribution and provenance of archaeological obsidian in central and eastern Europe

The sources of archaeological obsidian in central and eastern Europe are briefly described and analyses of 48 samples from 10 of these sources in northeast Hungary and southeast Slovakia are reported. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis was used to determine 16 trace elements and two major elements. Principal Components Analysis supported by Discriminant Analysis showed seven analytical groups in these data. A total of 270 pieces of archaeological obsidian were assigned by Discriminant Analysis to three of the Carpathian source groups defined, the remaining four source groups not being represented in the archaeological record. The three source groups used are: (1) Szöllöske and Málá Toron?a in Slovakia (designated group Carpathian 1); (2) Csepegö Forrás, Tolcsva area, Olaszliszka and Erdöbénye in Hungary (Carpathian 2a); and (3) Erdöbénye (Carpathian 2b). Carpathian 2a and 2b type obsidians are both found at the re-deposited source of Erdöbénye. Carpathian obsidian was used most widely in Hungary, Slovakia and Romania, and also reached south to the Danube in Yugoslavia, west to Moravia, Austria and to the Adriatic near Trieste, and north to Poland. Carpathian 2a obsidian was used in the Aurignacian period, Carpathian 1 in the Gravettian and Mesolithic, and Carpathian 1, 2a and 2b in the Neolithic, when Carpathian 1 predominated and obsidian use was at its most intensive. Only Carpathian I type has been identified in the Copper and Bronze Ages. There is no evidence at present for any overlap between the Carpathian obsidian distribution and the distributions of the Near Eastern or Aegean sources, but there is an overlap with Mediterranean obsidian at the Neolithic site of Grotta Tartaruga in northeast Italy where Liparian and Carpathian 1 material were identified. The distribution of obsidian from the Carpathian sources is considered in terms of linear supply routes. Based on limited available evidence the supply zone is significantly smaller and the rate of fall-off with distance slightly lower than that reported for Near Eastern obsidians.     

Economic transformation in central and Eastern Europe: The role of regional development

The spatial impact of transition in Central and Eastern Europe is becoming an increasingly important question. Two main areas of regional disparity have emerged—core‐periphery contrasts and a West‐East gradient, with more positive development in core and Western areas respectively. A recent embryonic regional policy response is evident in the Visegrad Four countries, including the creation of a distinct Ministry in Hungary, the designation of assisted areas, and the provision of spatially focused instruments. The institutional infrastructure for regional development remains a central problem, including issues of coordination, strategy, implementation and territorial administrative structures. There is both an economic and political rationale for future development, with some potential for the transfer of western experience.     

Revolution and elite transformation in Eastern Europe

The external and internal causes, elite‐mass dynamics, and elite‐level changes that appear, respectively, to have preceded, accompanied, and followed the revolutionary upheavals in Eastern Europe between 1989–1991 are examined comparatively. Particular attention is paid to the possible emergence of national elites that share a consensus on rules of the game and that are unified in defence of democratic institutions. Prospects for such elites are judged to be best in Poland and Hungary, less good in Czechoslovakia, poor in Romania, Bulgaria and Albania, and virtually nonexistent in the Yugoslav republics.     

Neolithic economy in central Europe

This article presents a survey of Neolithic economy, land use, trade, natural environment, and usage of plant and animal resources in central Europe, 5415–2240 B.C. (4500–1800 bc). Early, Middle A and B and Late Neolithic materials are summarized and compared. The earliest farmers expanded from southern Hungary and adjacent areas into central Europe over a relatively short time period, 100–200 years. They occupied areas only with good soils; thus probably hunters and gatherers continued to exist in many regions of central Europe. There is an increase in population and more upland areas are exploited for farming during the Middle Neolithic A and B periods. By the Middle Neolithic B period, low-level hierarchical or ranked societies appear in some regions of central Europe. The Late Neolithic may represent a modification of the mixed farming strategy observed during the earlier periods. Perhaps the herding of domestic animals became more important.     

Between east and west: Archaeology in the new eastern Europe

The collapse of Communism in eastern Europe has led to significant changes in the research climate for archaeology. Traditional sources of funds have evaporated while others are becoming available. Personnel have changed and many institutions find themselves in a precarious position. Nonetheless, archaeological research has continued throughout the waning days of the People's Democracies and into the new era of market economies. This article surveys the state of archaeological research in eastern Europe between the Elbe and the Pripet Marshes and between the Baltic and the Adriatic during the late 1980s and early 1990s.     

Crafters of Kingship: Smiths,Elite Power,and Gender in Early Medieval Europe

IN THE EARLIEST CENTURIES of the Middle Ages, skilled metalsmiths were greatly valued by cult leaders who required impressive objects to maintain social links and the loyalty of their retainers. Despite their clear importance, smiths were peripheral characters operating on the fringes of elite communities. Such treatment may reflect an attempt to limit the influence of metalworkers, whose craft was seen as supernatural and who themselves were probably spiritual figureheads; archaeological evidence associates smiths and their tools in symbolic processes of creation and destruction, not only of objects but also of buildings and monuments. The Church clearly appropriated these indigenous practices, although conversion eventually saw the pre-eminence of the sacred smith and their practice wane. Anthropological study provides numerous comparators for skilled crafters acting as supernatural leaders, and also suggests that as part of their marginal identity, smiths may have been perceived as a distinct gender.     

Plants in Late Medieval festivals and customs in written and pictorial sources from southern central Europe

Abstract

This paper derives from research carried out on plant representations in Late Medieval religious art in southern central Europe. The uses of plants in most important Late Medieval religious festivals and customs in southern central Europe are described. Plants with festive connotations are identified and shown in their cultural contexts. The main goal of this research was to show how visual evidence, interpreted with the help of historical sources, could contribute to archaeobotanical research on Late Medieval plants and their use in festive occasions in the region in the later Middle Ages.     

Technological examination of Neolithic-Bronze Age pottery from central and southeast Europe and from the Near East

Scanning electron microscopy is used to examine sequences of pottery sherds from central and southeast Europe, Greece and the Near East spanning the period from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age, in order to obtain information on the ceramic technologies employed in antiquity. On the basis of the vitrification observed and the chemical composition, the types of clay and firing procedures (temperature and atmosphere) employed in the manufacture of the pottery are defined. Two under-lying trends in the associated ceramic technologies are thus identified. The first is based on the use of non-calcareous or “unstable” calcareous clays fired in a reducing atmosphere at temperatures below 800 °C and the second on the use of “stable” calcareous clays fired in an oxidizing atmosphere at temperatures in excess of 800 °C.     

Changing models of settlement,economy, and ritual activity: Recent research in late prehistoric central Europe

Recent research in central Europe is changing our understanding of the role of centers in economic and social systems of late prehistoric times. Increased attention to smaller, more typical settlements shows that they engaged in economic activities similar to those at the large, fortified complexes. Abundant new evidence pertaining to ritual activity indicates that ritual was often integrated into daily life at settlements. The evidence from the exceptionally rich data on late prehistoric central Europe can be of substantial value for developing models applicable to contexts in other parts of the world.