Showing papers by "Hungarian National Museum published in 2018"

5000 years of dietary variations of prehistoric farmers in the Great Hungarian Plain.

Abstract: The development of farming was a catalyst for the evolution of the human diet from the varied subsistence practices of hunter-gatherers to the more globalised food economy we depend upon today. Although there has been considerable research into the dietary changes associated with the initial spread of farming, less attention has been given to how dietary choices continued to develop during subsequent millennia. A paleogenomic time transect for 5 millennia of human occupation in the Great Hungarian Plain spanning from the advent of the Neolithic to the Iron Age, showed major genomic turnovers. Here we assess where these genetic turnovers are associated with corresponding dietary shifts, by examining the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of 52 individuals. Results provide evidence that early Neolithic individuals, which were genetically characterised as Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, relied on wild resources to a greater extent than those whose genomic attributes were of typical Neolithic European farmers. Other Neolithic individuals and those from the Copper Age to Bronze Age periods relied mostly on terrestrial C3 plant resources. We also report a carbon isotopic ratio typical of C4 plants, which may indicate millet consumption in the Late Bronze Age, despite suggestions of the crop’s earlier arrival in Europe during the Neolithic.

Painted dedication to Genius and a relief depicting aquila from a sanctuary in Sopianae: (Appendix to the study: Painted depiction of Genius of Sopianae by Anita Kirchhof)

Abstract: In the locality of Sopianae, Pannonia Inferior, at the east corner of the settlement, there was a presumably customs station built at the end of the 2nd century which existed till 258–260 AD. From one of the rooms of the building excavated on Kossuth Square, Pecs, a fresco depicting a Genius, an inscription belonging to it, two pedestals – probably bases for statues – and a statue of an eagle came to light. Based on the assemblage the room may have been the sanctuary (sacellum) of the official building. The rare but formal telonium or teloneum expression may have been used for this customs station which, as such, belonged to the organization of the Publicum portorium Illyrici. The only surviving inscription may have been dedicated to the genius of the employees or the armed guards of the customs station: Genio | cu(stodiarum?) tel(onei?). On the pedestal bases probably emperor statues were situated. On the eastern wall of the west–east oriented room, based on its own pedestal and generally because of its quality, there was the relief of an eagle placed in a niche personalizing Iuppiter and the imperial power. In this case the eagle can be taken as a state-imperial symbol found in its own context and thus belonged to the rare Roman Age relics of the administration. The sanctuary must basically serve the official imperial cult.

ʻ...Finding a smoother pebble or prettier shell than ordinary’ – Non-utilitarian artefacts in the upper palaeolithic – A case study from Mogyorósbánya (Transdanubia, Hungary)

Abstract: During the excavations of the Upper Palaeolithic site at Mogyorosbanya several non-utilitarian artefacts were found. Beside the earlier published piece of fossil resin (amber) and lumps of red ochre, more than one hundred Palaeogene and Neogene fossil molluscs, large foraminifers, corals and trace fossils from at least three different geological formations, as well as numerous fragments of phyllite were documented. Pebbles of this soft shale were most probably collected from the alluvium of the Danube river. The majority of the pieces show clear traces of scraping and along the periphery of the largest artefact rhythmic incisions are visible. Even if this piece is not a ready-made object, it can be compared to the limestone and sandstone pebbles found on the Epigravettian site of Pilismarot-Palret. Another interesting artefact of unknown function is a carefully shaped but strongly fragmented piece with sharp edge. Fossils of the Eocene Epoch were easily accessible in the region of Mogyorosbanya, while the nearest fossiliferous outcrops of the Oligocene and Pannonian sediments are found 15–17 km in south-eastern direction from the site. Few gastropod shells show unambiguous traces of human modification. Typically, among the 16 Melanopsis fossils found in a single square meter only three pieces were manufactured. On the other hand, the majority of the Dentalium and worm tube fragments were cut and their surfaces show intense rounding and shine. The not modified Nummulites, corals and large internal casts of gastropods were most probably collected by Prehistoric humans because of their unusual form. This interesting group of the Mogyorosbanya artefacts and are compared to the fossils published from the Pilisszanto I rockshelter and to the not modified fossils from Moravia and Romania.

Blowing in the Wind, Sinking in the Swamp: Mosaburg – Zalavár

Abstract: Zalavar and its surroundings are considered one of the most important 9th-century localities in the Carpathian Basin. The centre at Zalavar-Castle Island retained its role even after the Hungarian conquest and kept it until the 13th c. By the middle of the 20th c. the remnants over the surface were completely destroyed, and in some places even the foundations were removed. Although archaeological research revealed many remains, only a few were reconstructed. Considering the 19th and 20th-century political/national ideas about the site, its interpretation Archaeological excavations resulted in new information about the region, which led to an increased interest in the site and to both tourism and pilgrimage evolving significantly. The site became a place of political commemoration. Due to social changes among the villagers from Zalavar, the community gradually lost interest in the site, even though it lies only 1.5 km from the village. Experience suggests that without involving the local community, conservation work will be unviable.