Hungarian National Museum

About: Hungarian National Museum is a archive organization based out in Budapest, Hungary. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Chalcolithic & Population. The organization has 70 authors who have published 106 publications receiving 2223 citations. The organization is also known as: Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum.

Compositional analysis of a historical collection of Cisalpine Gaul's coins kept at the Hungarian National Museum

Abstract: The Cisalpine Gaul's coinage has been produced by different tribes settled in northern Italy between the 4th and the 1st century B.C. During this wide chronological period several types of silver drachms have originated, nowadays classified by numismatists in different typologies. To verify the presence of a debasement along the years and to investigate the exchange ratios among different drachmas, the rich collection of the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest has been analysed. Measurements have been performed at the Budapest Neutron Centre with the Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis (PGAA), a bulk technique which enables overcoming of surface enriched layers and alterations. This technique allows silver and copper to be quantified, while to check the presence of tin and other minor elements X-ray fluorescence (XRF) has been used. Results show that the silver content falls from 94% of the first emissions up to 50% of the Cenomans' and Insubres' tribes late typologies. This strong debasement takes place between the III and the II century B.C. and could be related to the military efforts in the decades around the second Punic war. At the same time, we observe the transition from a binary silver–copper alloy to a ternary one, made of silver, copper and tin.

Human mobility in a Bronze Age Vatya 'urnfield' and the life history of a high-status woman.

Abstract: In this study, we present osteological and strontium isotope data of 29 individuals (26 cremations and 3 inhumations) from Szigetszentmiklos-Urgehegy, one of the largest Middle Bronze Age cemeteries in Hungary. The site is located in the northern part of the Csepel Island (a few kilometres south of Budapest) and was in use between c. 2150 and 1500 BC, a period that saw the rise, the apogee, and, ultimately, the collapse of the Vatya culture in the plains of Central Hungary. The main aim of our study was to identify variation in mobility patterns among individuals of different sex/age/social status and among individuals treated with different burial rites using strontium isotope analysis. Changes in funerary rituals in Hungary have traditionally been associated with the crises of the tell cultures and the introgression of newcomers from the area of the Tumulus Culture in Central Europe around 1500 BC. Our results show only slight discrepancies between inhumations and cremations, as well as differences between adult males and females. The case of the richly furnished grave n. 241 is of particular interest. The urn contains the cremated bones of an adult woman and two 7 to 8-month-old foetuses, as well as remarkably prestigious goods. Using 87Sr/86Sr analysis of different dental and skeletal remains, which form in different life stages, we were able to reconstruct the potential movements of this high-status woman over almost her entire lifetime, from birth to her final days. Our study confirms the informative potential of strontium isotopes analyses performed on different cremated tissues. From a more general, historical perspective, our results reinforce the idea that exogamic practices were common in Bronze Age Central Europe and that kinship ties among high-rank individuals were probably functional in establishing or strengthening interconnections, alliances, and economic partnerships.

Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis of the Nyírlugos obsidian core depot find

Abstract: The Nyirlugos obsidian core depot find is one of the most important lithic assemblages in the collection of the Hungarian National Museum (HNM). The original set comprised 12 giant obsidian cores, of which 11 are currently on the permanent archaeological exhibition of the HNM. One of the cores is known to be in Debrecen. The first publication attributed the hoard, on the strength of giant (flint) blades known from the Early and Middle Copper Age Tiszapolgar and Bodrogkeresztur cultures, to the Copper Age. In the light of recent finds it is more likely to belong to the Middle Neolithic period. The source area was defined as Tokaj Mts., about 100 km to the NW from Nyirlugos. The size and beauty of the exceptional pieces exclude any invasive analysis. Using Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis (PGAA), we can measure major chemical components and some key trace elements of stone artefacts with adequate accuracy to successfully determine provenance of obsidian. Recent methodological development also facilitated the study of relatively large objects like the Nyirlugos cores. The cores were individually measured by PGAA. The results show that the cores originate from the Carpathian 1 sources, most probably the Vinicky variety (C1b). The study of the hoard as a batch is an important contribution to the assessment of prehistoric trade and allows us to reconsider the so-called Carpathian, especially Carpathian 1 (Slovakian) sources.