Dating the Ladies

Abstract

The cemetery in Nižná Myšľa is one of the most important funerary sites in Early Bronze Age Central Europe. Many years of excavations led to the discovery of nearly 800 graves associated with the Otomani-Füzesabony culture. The presented paper is an attempt to reconstruct the spatial development of the cemetery, based on statistical analyses of grave goods and using the latest findings concerning the absolute chronology of selected categories of finds. A significant role in the analyses was played by female burials, in which numerous objects were discovered, which were evidence of the relatively high status of women in the local community. This provided the authors with a basis for discussion with regard to the dominant male-oriented narratives concerning the communities of fortified settlements.

Society in Transition: Cultural Change in the Early Bronze Age Cemetery at Nižná Myšl’a in the Light of Absolute Chronology

“…Less numerous were burials of children ( infans 0–10; 245 individuals) and individuals in the iuvenis age category (177 individuals) (Nováček 2017). Moreover, only 7 burials of maturus individuals were documented and no burial of a senilis individual was discovered 1 (Jaeger et al 2021). Irrespective of the representation of the oldest individuals in the archaeological record of NM, both sexes were placed in graves according to formalized rules (males—right side S-N axis, females—left side, N-S axis).…”

“…Irrespective of the representation of the oldest individuals in the archaeological record of NM, both sexes were placed in graves according to formalized rules (males—right side S-N axis, females—left side, N-S axis). Grave gifts varied according to the sex of the deceased and the chronology of the burial (Jaeger et al 2021). In the earlier part of the cemetery (phase A1) the dead were generally buried with fewer objects.…”

“…From the aforementioned mass grave 100/101 (an adult woman, a man and two children—according to body position probably a boy and a girl), samples from a male and a female adults were dated. The bone samples obtained for radiocarbon dating represent both the earlier and the later phase of the cemetery (Jaeger et al 2021). The selection was based on the criterion of the presence of amber ornaments in the burial furnishings 2 , hence the predominance of female burials in the collection.…”

“…Available radiocarbon dates come from the younger settlement and from two unique metallurgists’ burials (Jaeger and Olexa 2014; Jaeger 2016). The small number of dated contexts and the vague archaeological characterization of contexts hinder a proper reconstruction of the chronological dynamics of the development of any of the elements of the NM site (Jaeger et al 2021).…”

“…The periodization scheme proposed by L. Olexa and T. Nováček in the cited catalogs was verified based on statistical analyses and related to absolute age on the basis of radiocarbon dating of finds known from burials from the NM but coming from other areas of Central Europe (Stockhammer et al 2015). As a result, it was proposed to describe the development of funerary space use at NM in two phases, i.e., A1 and A2, dated to 2100/2000–1900 BC and 1900–1650/1550 BC, respectively (Jaeger et al 2021). Results of verification of this chronological model are presented below.…”